


Serendipity

by Felisorablue



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Character Development, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Kinda, M/M, Merpeople, Multi, Nines has a cat because he deserves one, Prince Nines, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Touch-Starved, dancer Gavin, penpal, secret indentities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 18:02:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 76,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15779253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felisorablue/pseuds/Felisorablue
Summary: The ocean houses many surprises, including the two merfolk kingdoms Jeiiko and Cylia. After a decimating attack from a kraken that no one has ever seen or heard of before, the royal families of the kingdoms fall into disarray.15 years later and one of King Kamski’s two sons in Cylia, Nines, has turned 21 and now must get engaged. Nines himself? Hates the idea.Meanwhile, Gavin is a lowly exotic dancer for Jeiiko with no family and no love but from his adopted sister North, who is better at hunting than emotional support.Both are stuck between a rock and a hard place… and both need some love.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from one of my favorite books as a little boy. I hope I do it justice!  
> Ok, now let's get into some trouble!

Another thunderous explosion rocks the cold water and soldiers cry for reinforcements. The water turns a dusty silver-blue as silt is madly kicked up by flailing tails of civilians, frantically rushing to flee from the beast.

The Kingdom Jeiiko is under attack by a massive creature dubbed Kraken by the Jeiiko King, Carl.

“Load propulsion cannons!,” The general crows, voice hoarse from the long battle. It will only get more hoarse. This battle is nowhere near finished. If she’s able to speak at all by the end of this, she’ll sound like a lifelong two pack a day smoker.

A hundred cannons grate and grind as they are reloaded with torpedos, ready to bombard the enormous flailing being, seemingly consisting of an never ending supply of limbs, unwaveringly assaulting them.

The general’s face twists as she desperately shrieks, “FIRE!”

All one hundred cannons belch torpedoes that leaves a wake of bubbles as they streak towards the kraken.  Some of the torpedos drive into the soft, exposed parts. The rest wedge themselves under the hardened plates protecting the kraken’s head. They all explode and the kraken writhes and dances as it is ripped into. A bad choice.

Long, powerful arms suction onto buildings and launch entire buildings, hurling them towards the palace, and the weapons that defend it. The soldiers can do nothing but watch in horror.

The water is filled with the scent of fear and blood, a slow seeping saffire blue weeping from the fallen and newly injured. The cries and moans of the wounded joined with the haunting noise from the kraken, which closely resembles war sirens, creates deafening noise. The water is electric with the abundance of sounds, creating a shaky buzz that travels through the water like gossip in school.

The general nearly trips over her own tail, rushing for King Carl and the newly arrived King Kamski, with general Chloe.

“Your majesty, council, please!,” The general rushed out.

“General Lily. Be right there.” He excuses himself from battle planning to join the General.

“You know what I am going to say,” General Lily frets.

King Carl places a pacifying hand on General Lily’s shoulder.

“Yes, Prince Markus is safe. He is in the safety bunker under the palace.” He frowns. “However, now that you know our son is safe, I need your help with battle strategies.”

He propels himself back towards King Kamski and his general with a sharp flick of his tail, quick so that only an afterimage of streaks of his deep blue and clean white swordfish tail. General Lily follows closely.

“Now that we have King Kamski and General Chloe’s army,” he hummed, rubbing his temples, “we have far more options for battle.”

General Lily’s eyes narrowed. “We need to do this quick then.” She glanced over to the kraken, who was scraping its tentacles along the ground for more projectiles. “That thing isn’t just going to wait for us to gather our wits.”

King Carl’s nose twitched. Nerves showing through.

King Kamski looks, at best, ruffled. His hair is let down from it’s usual bun and his lionfish tail is puffed to the spines like an open hand fan. He speaks as they approach the table.

“Our soldiers will be on hippocampus. They could swim up to the eyes and distra-”

A great crunch, like a massive bone breaking, sounded. All four of them looked up only to see chunks of rock instead of sky. They weren’t left with time to think as soldiers leapt atop both Kings and shielded them. The ground violently quakes as rocks impacted the earth.

“Lil-!,” the king’s cry was cut short when he was tackled from behind.

King Carl couldn’t move from under the soldier’s protective weight...or see Lily with all the fallen rocks in the way. He heard King Kamski snarl at his soldiers to get off of him. The weight on top of him disappears and his eyes immediately go to his surroundings. The water is a wash of blue, tainted with his people’s blood. His eyes swipe back and forth for General Lily. He almost opens his mouth to call for her when his eyes land on her rounded dark spotted tail peeking from under a boulder. His heart thuds like he missed a stair.  

“Lily?”

Just as he flicks his tail to get closer, the kraken wails from behind him. It stirs massively, as if it was the entire world moving, and rushes them, a mass of grabbing suckers and huge, wild eyes. He shields his face with his arms, only to get a face full of silt...nothing else. He hears Kamski’s grief stricken roar from a couple meters away.

A powerful wave of water suddenly knocks him backwards into open water. He spirals out of control and with ferocity rights himself only to see the kraken swimming away with General Chloe wrapped in one of its arms, her body completely limp.

King Kamski screams for his soldiers to go after the kraken. King Carl watches as they chase it, knowing it’s utterly futile. It's like watching a beatle attempt to chase a sprinting horse. They are going at a tired snail’s pace compared to something as monstrous and powerful as the kraken.

King Carl looks back at General Lily’s body. The soldiers have lifted the rock off of her.

He curled his blue and white tail under himself as he kneeled next to her.

“The cost of the battle is always higher than the profit of victory.” He choked and slipped his hand in hers. “You told me that when you started your training for general instead of queen,” he said to her body.

Her eyes were fully black, proof that she's truly gone.

“You always did seem to end up right.” He choked in soft staccato.

His eyes scan his destroyed kingdom, the rubble coated in a tinge of blue and he can see the bodies of his people amongst the obliterated buildings.

His chest felt speared, only the spear had exploded into tiny pieces, each one on fire, and burning. Tears of delicate green fall in large glass drops to the sea floor by his tail.

The cost indeed.

  
  


\-----

  
  


Gavin blinks, ears ringing and world fuzzy. What just happened? The last thing he saw was that beast picking up a pile of rocks. A hand from behind him lands on his wounded tail, and he flinches. His scales are scraped away and blood leaks blue into the water to join the silt. He’s scared and his hands shake.

“Mama? Is that you?” His seven year old’s voice quivers. “Mom?!”

Gavin twists, the end of his tail waving and disrupting water, leaving a thin trail of blue. “Where are you?”

“Gavin, my pearl.” A woman’s fading voice creaks, and the hand on Gavin’s tail squeezes for a moment.

Gavin looks sideways to the pile of rocks besides. The entire world lands on Gavin’s heart as he looks between rocks to meet his mother’s eyes. Her hand on his tail is the only part of her not trapped. She’s been crushed.

His hands fall onto the rocks and his fingers scrape to shift them.

“Mama!” His voice is stilted and his throat feels like it’s closing.

His small hand shoves through the rough, biting rocks to grab at his mother. She’s caged in! He has to get her out, so she can hold him and it will all be ok again.

“Come on, mama, dig out! “

He twists his hand. He’s so close to touching her cheek, just a little further.

His mama’s eyes scrunch and she whines. “Gavin, pearl, stop it. Stop, gav.”

He does and his mothers eyes meet his again. But her eyes are different now. They edges are turning black. Gavin’s eyes widen.

“No! No, mama!” His hand finally reaches through and squishes against her cheek. He squeezes, holding on. “You’re gonna stay. “

He feels her sob. “Yes,” she whispers, “I am. I’m gonna always stay in your heart, pearl.”

He drags his shaky hand to her lips. “It’s gonna be ok, right? Lip kisses mean it’s ok. Like before school. “

He sees her gills on her neck shiver and feels a gush of water on his palm before her lips press to it. The water from her mouth was blue.

“Exactly. All...ok. “ She strains. “Nothing to be scared of. Ok kisses, remember?” Her eyes are almost completely black.

Gavin tries to speak. His throat is so closed up, he can’t do anything but whine. His mother kisses his shaking palm again.

“Ok kiss..es,” She mouths as the last white in her eyes is covered by black and her pursed lips go soft.

Gavin sits in silence for a moment, tears of green race down his cheeks before being washed away as drops of glass. He clenches his fist so tight that his nails poke into his palm, making it sting. The pain of grief far, far overcame it. The physical pain was nothing.

He was lost again.

He’s done this before, when dad died. At first it was like the world had turned itself upside down and inside out. But everything turned out ok then, so it would end ok now.

He pulled his hand back through the hole in the rock pile. Pebbles fell in his place, obscuring his mother’s face. He leaned on the rock pile and openly sobbed. His tail is covered with green seaglass and he hugged himself tight.

He looked up and saw teenage girl was drifting over the rocks, her long spotted black eel tail slithering behind her. She had a bow and arrow on her back and was wearing an unusual hunting top. It looked like she was scavenging.

He squeezed into a tighter ball. He didn’t want to leave mama yet.

The girl bent down to a pile of rock and wood and picked something from the rubble before heading his way.

“Hey kid. What are you doing out here? It’s not safe alone.” She glanced at his mess of glass tears. “Is something wrong?”

Gavin bowed his head, feeling his lip start to quiver again and his throat closing up like nausea.

The girl curled her tail under here and kneeled in front of him.

“What’s wrong?”

Gavin whimpered. He looked at the rock pile that encased his mother and attempted to gulp down the lump in his throat, with little success. He placed a shaky hand on the rock pile.

“Mama….” He gulped again. “She got hurt by the rocks…”

The girl’s eyes widened.

“Oh.” She sounded surprised. She looked down awkwardly. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

She looks back up, eyebrows furrowed in worry. “Do you have….someone else that can take care of you?”

Gavin shook his head.

“Damnit,” she groaned in frustration. “I can’t just leave you here…..ok, how about this. I have a house in the forest and I know some good people that could care for you. Do you know how to hunt?”

Gavin hardly heard her over his own grief. Who cared about hunting any more? Mama was gone. But he nodded anyway.

The girl nodded. “Ok, that’s good….uh, I’m North.”

Gavin looked up to North’s face. Her eyebrows were knitted together and her head was tilted like she was concerned. What choice did he have but to go with her.

“What about mama?” He looked at the rock pile again.

North frowned and hummed. “I think the search parties will find her.” She looked back at Gavin. “She’ll get a proper burial.”

Gavin nodded. That’s more than father got. It’s good enough, and mama would want him not to give up. He had to stay alive for her.

“Ok...I’m Gavin,” he muttered, twisting his hands together where they were resting on his tail.

North nodded again and smiled at Gavin. “Ok then. We should get back to my house and I can look at your wounds.”

She uncurled her tail from under her and flicked it towards Gavin, straighting up. “You ok to swim?”

Gavin looked at his hands again. He had to leave mama. It’s what she would want. Gavin nodded, and placed his hand on the pile.

“Goodbye mama. I’m going to survive, like you taught me,” he sniffled.

He uncurled his dappled shark tail and hugged his torso with shaking arms. “I can swim.”

North turned and headed towards the tall kelp forest a few metres from them. “Let’s get going then.”

  


\-----

  


Unlike the Jeiiko Kingdom, the Cylia kingdom was untouched by the carnage.

“Nines!” Connor’s cyan tail coiled around his brother’s wrist. “Stop looking out the window. You know mother doesn’t want us to see wounded soldiers until we’re older. She says it’s gross and scary! C’mon, stop looking!”

Nines shook Connor off of him.

“It doesn’t bother me. Plus, she isn’t here. She can’t tell me not to.” Nines looked Connor directly in the eyes. “If you’re scared, you can leave.”

Connor huffed. “I’m not scared. I just don’t like blood. That’s all,” he mumbled.

Nines already turned back to the window. “That’s fine.”

Connor shoved Nine’s tail. “Move your tail, it’s poking me.”

Nines looked down at his tail. His father, King Kamski, was a lionfish mer so he had inherited some of the same...spikiness.

Nines shifted his tail from where it had been curled under him to wrap carefully around his arm.

Connor grins and snuggles into his side. Nine’s grimaces. He hates being touched without giving permission. Especially by his messy little guppy brother and his clingy seahorse tail.

“You’re the best big brother!,” Connor trills from his side, curling his tail around Nines side. It was like being hugged by a cuddly snake.

Nines sighs and gingerly pats Connor’s head. “Uh. Yeah. Thank you.”

He leaves his hand on Connor’s head as Connor squeezes tighter. He understands why he’s doing it. Father left early that morning with Mother and the soldiers towards Jeiiko and Connor’s and Nines best friends, Alice and Cole, were camping out in the forest with Cole’s mother.

The whole palace was on edge and jumpy. Of course his little brother was scared.

Nines shifts his arm to be around Connor’s shoulders. He would endure the contact for a little longer.

The door opens behind them. Nines turns and is greeted by their bodyguard’s grizzled face and scruffy dark brown beard.

“Hank?” Connor uncurls his tail from Nines waist to go greet Hank. A large green and yellow fish swims in after him. Connor grins and slings his arms around the fish’s wide head. “Sumo!”

Hank leaves Connor and Sumo with a flick of his thick shark tail and joins Nines at the window.

“Whatcha lookin’ at there?” His heavy hand lands on Nines shoulder.

“That.” Nines points to the courtyard where the soldiers are being led to crowds of nurses and split into groups based on wound severity.

Hank hums. “Little...bloody for your age.” Hank looks at Connor behind him, who has draped his torso over the ever patient and tolerant Sumo. “How do you feel ‘bout this, Connor?”

Connor looked up and wrinkled his nose. “I don’t think I like it.”

Nines tilted his head. “Well, you’re boring then.”

Connor looked affronted. “No I’m not! You’re the weird one.”

Nines rolled his eyes. Connor always seemed to mix up his words. “I said boring, not weird. I’m fine with being weird,” he drawled. “In fact, being weird makes me interesting. So double not-boring.”

Connor huffed, bubbles swirling up from his nose. He knew when he lost a fight.

Hank cleared his throat. “Your mother doesn’t want you seeing the mess down there. Let’s all get out of here before you see something you really don’t wanna.“

Nines didn’t hear him. His eyes had locked onto something big and dark coming from the Jeiiko area. His hand shot out towards Hank, who was still next to him, and his small fingers patted Hank’s side urgently. Frightened.

“Huh?” Hank looked down at Nines, confused. Nines grabbed Hank’s hand.

“What’s that?,” he asked in a small voice.

“What’s wha- holy shit!” Hank’s tail swished as he lurched backwards, pulling Nines with him. Connor swarmed to his side and Hank’s arm wrapped around him, pulling Connor into his arms protectively. Hank looked like he’d seen a ghost and Nines pressed himself closer to his guardian’s side.

“I...I thought it was just a legend,” Hank gulped. His tail swiped through the water, directing them towards the door. “We’re going to your rooms. Now.”

As Hank pulled them quickly from the room, Nines looked back. The beast was passing in front of the palace now, massive tentacles streamlined behind it, accept for one. The arm was bunched up on itself. Nines saw the end of a pink seahorse tail peeking from within the curls of the arm. The tail looked familiar.

It looked like his mothers.

Oh.

Nines’s scream echoed around the palace, a noise so fraught with anguish, that its resonance truly summed up the day.

  



	2. Nines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dysfunctional families, goodie. Sorry Nines.   
> (hint hint nudge nudge wink wink--it'll be ok in the end)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter titles are the names of who's point of view the chapter will be from. So, since this is chapter is called "Nines", this is from Nines POV. :)

~15 years later~

****

...

****

Bright beams of sunlight spike Nines’ eyes as he rolls over on his bed and groans. He shoves his face into his pillow and pretends not to be alive. That bliss only lasted for a moment as his door is pounded on and Connor’s voice floats through.

“Nines~,” Connor sings, “get uuu-uup!”

Nines growles. “Go away.”

Connor laughs. “Wow, someone’s sour. I thought you would be happier seeing that it’s your birthday.”

Nines burrowes deeper into his pillow, groaning. “Don’t say that outloud. Reality is not currently welcome in my ears.”

Connor laughs again. “Because that sentence makes sense.”

“I always make sense, shut up,” Nines huffs. 

“Of course you do,” Connor lilts before tapping on the door again. “But really, let me in. There’s someone here for you. She got locked out last night.”

Nines mumbles in agreement and rolls over. He opens his eyes and, to his dismay, they meet a poster on his door that reads Happy 21st! in light blue. He squeezes his eyes closed again. He peels his eyes back open and lets out a sigh that sends air bubbles bumbling up to the ceiling. 

Time to face what promised to be a  very, very long and excruciating day. 

“Come on! I need to get down to breakfast!,” Connor whines. 

He flicks his tail and untangles his blanket from his tail spines. 

“Fine, fine. Hold on to your tail.” 

Nines slides off his bed and to the door to unlatch the chain. As soon as he cracks open the door, a medium sized silver fish darts in and rubs up on his tail, whiskers twitching in affection. 

Nines bends down to pet it. “Shit, I left you outside in my panic last night. “

The fish swims into his arms and settles there, getting comfortable. Nines pulls the door the rest of the way open with the end of his tail. He looks up to see Connor with his hand over his mouth, obviously hiding more laughter.

“Nice bed hair you got there.” Connor giggles into his fist. 

Nines waves his hand in Connor’s face. “I just woke up, give me a break.”

“Alright, it doesn’t look that bad,’ Connor relents. “You’re welcome for bringing your cat, by the way. “

Nines looks down at the sleeping arridae catfish fish in his arms, whose tail was gently and happily swishing. “Yeah, thanks. I knew I forgot something last night.”

Connor raises an eyebrow. “How did you forget Lyki? She’s your  _ cat.  _ Forgetting a pet catfish is like… when a catfish is sleeping around your shoulders and you shove them off.”

Nines raises his eyebrow right back. “Well, one is a little mistake and the other is a voluntary choice… plus, I would never shove Lyki off my shoulders. Don’t you know that’s against the rules?”

Connor starts drifting down the hall. “What rules?” 

“Cat rules, obviously.” 

Connor turns his back to go further down the hall. “Ok then, have fun with your cat rules. See you at breakfast!”

Nines goes back into his room with Lyki. She bounces out of his arms onto his bed and immediately curls up. The corners of Nines lips curl up just slightly.

Upon turning to his mirror, he’s faintly horrified. Pieces of his hair was sticking up like static, and whatever wasn’t sticking up, was flattened unattractively. He grimaces and reaches for a brush and some gel. This isn’t going to be fun. 

After tugging, smoothing, fluffing, and some overly-complicated swish that his hairdresser taught him but he thinks does nothing at all, his hair is presentable. He picks out a bracelet- his favourite moonstone circlet- and after opening the window for Lyki to go outside, goes downstairs to breakfast. 

He’s greeted with the smell of grilled salmon and Connor’s beaming face at the far end of the table. 

“Finally, the birthday boy is dragged out of bed!” Connor waves at Nines with his fork.    
Nines sits down and a servant offers him the salmon. He thanks them and takes it before addressing Connor. 

“First of all, rude. Second, how are you so cheerful?? It’s so early the flying fish aren’t even awake yet,” Nines groggily questions. 

“I forgot you aren’t a morning person like me. Which, by the way, is weird,” Connor says. 

Nines takes a bite of fish. “How is that weird?”

“Well,” Connor starts, “because mornings are so crisp and new and fresh. And yet, you don’t like them. At all.”

Nines swallows his fish. “Yep. Hate ‘em.”

Connor gasps, feigning hurt. “Why, you’ve hurt the morning’s feelings!,” Connor fake wails. He starts talking to the ceiling. “Morning, it’s ok. He doesn’t really mean it. He secretly loves you,” he whispers the last part like it’s secret. 

Nines face meets his palm. “Dear Poseidon, you’re killing me here. Can’t you lay off one day a year?”

Connor chuckles. “But it’s so fun embarrassing you! Especially when you act like the world is ending.”

Nines stares at Connor through playfully narrowed eyes. “I’m glad my pain brings you such delight.” 

Connor’s tail whirles excitedly from where it is curled under him. “Oh, absolutely. It’s pure entertainment gold.”

“Agony,” Nines says in a completely flat and emotionless voice. 

Connor nods vigorously. “Now you get the idea.”

Nines opens his mouth for a return jab when the kitchen doors open and in glides the one person he really didn’t want to see.

King Kamski, his father. 

King Kamski’s lionfish tail swishes majestically behind him, despite his obvious just-woke-up eyes. Kamski waves to his two sons before turning to Nines. 

“We need to talk.” 

The exact words that Nines had known we’re coming, and had been dreading since yesterday night. 

“Nope, I’m out,” Nines says before stuffing the rest of his breakfast in his mouth, and swimming for the door before anyone can react. 

“Nines, stop,” Kamski starts. Nines ignores him and doesn’t hear anything more as the door closes behind him. 

Nines swims towards the coral garden for some space and to give his brain something nicer to think about than the inevitable day of pain coming. 

The corals are tall, bright, and colored in every shade imaginable, like a rainbow exploded. Nines weaves around towers of red and ducks under spiny arches of yellowish gold. He spins around a ring of bristly green bushes and admires the colorful fish and small crabs moving amongst the coral. His chest decompresses as he sighs, releasing tension and stress.

Not like that does much. It’ll return as soon as his father corners him long enough to lecture him. 

He sees an empty giant clamshell nestled within a clump of blue feather coral. Inside sleeps Lyki, whiskers tucked back against her face. 

Nines picks her up and carries on his journey through the garden while talking to the freshly woken up catfish. She blinks groggily up at him as he talks. 

“Father will eventually track me down to talk to me about growfin day.” 

In Nines humble opinion, a complete bullshit day based on twisted tradition. When a child of royal bloodline grows to be 21 years old, they must get engaged to someone. Now, for some, that’s delightful. They may already be in a relationship with someone and they simply marry them. But for lonely suckers like Nines, they must find someone. An engagement party is held, which is essentially group speed dating. 

Nines finds the entire idea ridiculous and off-putting. Where’s the emotion in the relationship? You can’t build trust and affection within one night of partying! 

As Nines tells Lyki all this, she looks at him with a tilted head. He stops.

“Why are you looking at me funny, cat?”

Lyki twitches a whisker and Nines sighs. “You don’t care, do you?”

Lyki bumps Nines with her nose and looks back up at him. 

“No, of course you don’t. You’re a cat. All you do is nap and knock things off shelves,” Nines grumbles before kissing Lyki’s head. “Still cute though.” 

Lyki rubs her head on his cheek before jumping out of his arms and wandering off towards the palace.

Nines gets a moment of peace before his illusion of freedom is shattered by his father’s voice. 

“Finally, there you are,” Kamski’s voice laments.              

Nines rotates his body with a lazy swish of his tail. Here comes that lecture. 

Kamski speaks again with an impatient edge to his voice. “We need to talk..” 

Nines tenses. “ My engagement day is a week away. Can’t we discuss it later?”

Kamski huffs. “I have other things to do. I want to get this conversation done now so that prep can begin and I can go and handle the work that I need to.” 

Nines frowns. “You already know I don’t want this. Don’t make grand preparations for something that won’t result in anything good. Why waste the resources and time?” 

Kamski puffs out his chest and tilts his head delittleingly. 

“The royal Cylia way has been passed from generation to generation. It keeps the kingdom in balance and peace. Do not throw it to the side just because you disagree with a small part of it.” The King continues in a more gentle tone. “It is also how I met your mother, and no one could have asked for a more perfect mer.” His gaze grows distant and a bit melancholy.

Nines purses his lips to keep from speaking. Speaking to his father only brings more passive-aggressive comments. 

Kamski shakes his head, as if he were greatly disappointed. “Anyways, that’s not actually what I wanted to talk about.”

“Could have fooled me,” Nines mutters. Kamski thankfully doesn’t hear.

He holds out his closed hand to Nines. Nines cautiously drifts closer and holds out his hand. His father places something in his palm and when he withdraws his hand, it appears to be a small conch shell.    
“O...k?” Nines sounds confused. 

“It’s a fluxshell. Amanda designed it for you,” Kamski says in a tone that implies he’s talking to a five year old. 

“Ok, what does it do? How does it work?,” Nines carefully asks.

Kamski takes it back from his hand. It turns from a shell into a whip within his hand. Nines flinches backwards. 

“It turns into whatever you need. Weapons, armor, a shield, and so on. And you make it so by simply using your brain. Just hold it in your hand and think about whatever you need and it turns into that. Easy,” Kamski drawls before he places the now reformed shell into Nines hand. 

“Uh, ok…,” Nines looks at Kamski suspiciously. “Why the gifts now?” 

Kamski clears his throat. “Well, Prince Markus turned twenty one quite recently as well. King Carl and I have agreed to have a double engagement party here for political purposes.”

Nines wheezes as he inhales through his gills wrong. “You-you what?!”

Kamski sighs. “Were you even listening to me? Or was I wasting my breath?”

Nines snarls. “Of course, I was listening. I-just- why. What were you thinking? Why would you do that?!”

Kamski glowers at Nines. “This is a good political compromise for both kingdoms.”

“Compromise?!” Nines spits.

“King Carl and I have agreed to meet and discuss the future of the kingdoms. You will accept this-,” Kamski ignores Nines outburst.  

Nines feels like his lungs are full of feathers and his gills are stuffed with cotton. 

“Father. You rant about tradition and then you… you discard it?! Because you’re too selfishly blindsided to put more work into organising your schedule differently?”

Kamski moves closer to Nines, glaring. “This is best for-”

Nines advances on his father, teeth bared. 

“What, best for me? Oh, really? Are you sure? Like how you never talk to me and instead let the servants do all the interacting? You’re like a totally different person, ever since mother-”

Kamski darts backwards, away from Nines, as if he had just been hit with squid ink. 

Nines feels a spear of sadness balloon in his chest.

“Do not speak of her like that,” Kamski’s eyes are wide with hurt and despair, but he recalls his place and seems to shake the emotions off. “The importance of this alliance is what takes precedence over our preferrences.”

And simple as that, the ‘King’ mask is back. The one that wins political wars with compelling words and infallible logic. Well, Nines isn’t a political debate. So why does it feel like he is only seen as just another debate to be won?

Nines’ tail rips through the water in frustration. He made a mistake again, driving his father further away. Dammit, why does he always do that? Why can’t he just hold his tongue?

“But-,” Nines starts. He can still do this! If only his father would listen.

Kamski’s arms are folded over his chest, and his tail is puffed in irritation.

“Your responsibility to this kingdom is paramoun-”

Nines doesn’t let him speak another syllable. His tail flashes and, in all its power, drives him quickly through the water towards the kelp forest, where tall shrouds of kelp grow. Perfect for hiding. 

As soon as the forest is in sight, he ratchets his speed up and dives behind a thick tangle of kelp. He comes here often to hide and to...sing.

Yes, sing.

No one knows about his singing, not even Connor. Who would ever accept that the stoic, emotionless, cold prince Nines sang in his spare time? No, he was perfectly fine with keeping it to himself. 

The kelp garden helps with that secret. The thickness of the kelp doesn’t let any noise escape.

He’s fine with it this way. 

Nines hugs himself. He knows that his dad is just as lost as he is in terms of their father-son relationship- or lack of. His father knows how to run a kingdom, not raise children. He left all of that to the nannies.

It was different before mother disappeared. They had fun together, and laughed. It seemed that the day she was carried off by the kraken, the laughter was carried away with her.

Nines already knows that he’s going to read instead of sleep that night, finding friends and company in the pages where he can’t find any in his daily life. All the servants call him Highness and answer to his beck and call. How could a friendship bloom when one of the individuals treats the other as if they are a glorious deity to be worshipped?

So, yet again, he will stay up for as long as he can. Maybe if he exhausts his body enough, he’ll just pass out and have no empty, lonely dreams at all. It’s not very likely, but hey...

a man can wish. 

But now, he has the forest as company. He swims deeper into the kelp, humming. 

Suddenly, he hears a swish next to him. He falls silent and huddles behind a rock. He peeks over it. 

A woman with a long black spotted eel tail glides by him, blocked from him by a curtain of kelp. 

Nines watches her silently move through the water, her torso lined up horizontally to her tail, making her look like a snake. A perfect hunter. 

She speeds up and he follows her progress slowly. He spots a faintly spotted shark tail peeking out from behind a ball of kelp. The woman reaches for the tail and tugs. 

Nines freezes until he hears a surprised yelp from the shark tail’s owner and watches as a handsome merman bolts upright. He has a gash across his nose and stubble from his lawline to the sides of his face...and apparently, he looks cute when startled. 

“Holy fuck, North! If I had my knife in hand, I could have turned around and stabbed you!,” the stranger remarked, hand on his chest from shock. 

The woman- North- belly laughed. “You should have seen your face! By Poseidon, that was great. You should’a seen yourself, bro,” she wheezed, bent over. 

The stranger put his hands on his hips, waiting for her to stop laughing. “Yeah, laugh it up.”

North exhaled. “Oh, I am!,” she said as she continue to chuckle.

The stranger turned his back on North and waved her over to where he was before she startled him. “When you are quite finished…. I found a ton of oysters.”

North nodded and slapped him on the back. “Nice. That’s dinner.” 

At this point, Nines is pretty sure that this counts as eavesdropping and backs up as the man announces that he’s going to go into town to work and North agrees that she can get the oysters herself. Nines watches as the man’s tail gracefully propels him through the water and, involuntarily, Nines follows him. The man spirals and weaves through the forest with a grace that Nines has never seen. He didn’t expect such a rough looking man to be so elegant. Before he truly realizes it, he’s on the other side of the kelp forest, in a coral ring that he’s never seen.

Bright coral and short kelp sprouts, fine white sand, a rainbow of fish. And the man in the middle of it all, looking like a damn god. Sun speckling and rippling across him as he swirls and dances with fish. With the freakin fish?!?! What is this, some cheesy romance novel? When does this happen in real life? 

And yet...there he moves with an impish elegance, making Nines feel both shocked and thrilled. Nines felt like dancing himself, and he didn’t dance, unless commanded by the King, and was always miserable while doing so. What the hell was this guy doing to him? Dancing?? Him?? Did someone drug his breakfast salmon? 

Nines watches as the stranger’s tail spins and his body follows like a flowing ribbon, muscles working. 

_ Holy mother of Poseidon.  _

Nines is stunned dumb. He stares with his mouth open as the man dances and moves like he was made from sea currents and the definition of attractive. 

Nines really has no words in his brain. It’s all mush. All he can think is how the man is  ridiculously beautiful. But he sounded so much more...grumpy in the kelp. Was the entire world flipping upside-down? Were grumpy men now secretly dancers??

Nines doesn’t see the great white shark swimming towards the man until it was practically on top of him. He jumped and his hand knocked into a rock, which fell onto another, big rock and they both toppled with a clink. Nines ducked and froze as the man’s head whipped around, searching for the sound. 

Nines waited for the man to turn tail and run from the shark that was very much in his space, but instead he smiled when his eyes fell onto it. 

“Come to bother me, ey?,” he baited.

The shark came close and pressed its nose into the man’s stomach. The man patted the shark’s head. 

“Thefki, you asshole, can’t you let me warm up in peace for once? I don’t have any food for you, brat,” the man smiled as he rubbed the shark’s chin and it circled him. The man let his shoulders slump. 

“Fine, come with me. We can scavenge something for you.” The man swims away from where Nines is hiding, shark by his side. 

Nines doesn’t know what to think. Ok, so this guy hunts..dances...and has a pet great white?!

He’s getting whiplash. 

He watches the stranger swim away and disappear into darker water until a voice rings behind him. 

“Hey, Nines!,” Connors voice seems right behind him.. 

Nines swings around and exhales. Connor has a big voice to make him think that he’s right behind him. In reality, he’s a good distance away from Nines. 

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!,” he says back as his heart slows back down from the fright. 

Connor waves his hand apologetically and swishes his tail faster. A silver flash darts from under his arm and as it comes closer, Nines can see that it’s Lyki. 

“You can just find me anywhere, huh?,” Nines sighs as Lyki settles on his shoulder, tail curled around his neck.

Connor nods as he comes closer. “Yeah, she’s a good one. A regular little search-and-rescue cat!” 

Nines tilts his head in doubt. “How did you find me?”

Connor stops and rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, a clue from a friend.”

Nines makes a questioning noise. Connor sucks a part of his lip in guiltily. 

“So, uh, you know how you were in the kelp garden?” 

Nines pauses. “Yeeess?,” he draws out, suspicious. “How did you know that?”

Connor twists his hands together. “Did you see a hunting woman and a man? Hunting woman had an eel tail?”

Nines stops breathing.

Connor chortles. “Yeah, North- the lady- she, uh, she knew you were there.” 

Fuck. 

Connor saw Nines panic and rushed to amend it.    
“It’s ok though! She thought it was funny and kinda flattering to be tracked by a prince? And, well, she’s been a master, uh, hunter her entire life. No one escapes her detection.”

Nines looked up at the sky. “Ok. I guess that’s better than being a creep. How do you know this North person?

Connor shrugged. “Hunting buddy. I take Sumo out to sniff out oysters with her sometimes.”

They start swimming back towards the palace, which Nines could just barely see in the distance. He had swum far. He followed Connor and watched as his cyan tail curled every so often around a stray piece of seaweed. 

Connor knocked Nines shoulder gently. 

‘So, what are you thinking?” 

Nines looks at Connor in surprise. “You want me to tell you?” 

Connor shrugs a shoulder and looks away. “Well, yeah. I want to know,” he says. He looks back. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

Nines thinks about it. There’s no harm in telling him and he trusts Connor. 

“I’m thinking about the engagement party.” 

Connor groans sympathetically. “Yeah, I heard about the double party thing.” 

Nines lets his head fall backwards. He’d forgotten. He signs and watches the bubbles rise before tilting his head back forward.

“If I didn’t have this crown upon my head, I wouldn’t have to worry about things like this,” Nines whispers.

Connor stays silent. Of course, Nines had never told Connor anything like that before. 

Nines stutters out a sentence. “I-just- I don’t understand how people are just. Happy with this. The marriage isn’t based on love or trust or emotions. It just out of convenience. Like feelings are now a part of….politics. Just a tool.” 

Connor looked at Nines with a teasing face but his eyes said something else. 

“What was that? My brother, talking about emotion? Who are you and what have you done with Nines, fiend?” Connor’s voice was quiet and gentle but loving. Always loving. 

Nines let the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile. “Ha, ha. I am still mer, Con. I do feel emotion. I just don’t show it that often. “

Connor waved a hand. “I know, you’re fine. But...yeah. I get it.”

Nines stays quiet. Connor was good with emotions, and that also meant he was good at talking about them. 

Connor takes a breath and lets it out before speaking.    
“I agree with you. I think that the engagement party forces royal kids to grow up fast and throw themselves into something that they may not be ready for. Sharing your life with another person can be scary if you aren’t ready.” Connor’s shoulders fall. “But I also see where the tradition comes from. The party is something that makes it possible to find a partner that is ready for a royal life and all the responsibilities that come with. It brings people who are ready to show their whole self- whole heart- to someone else. They have opened up their life and heart to fit another person’s heart in it as well.” 

Connor rests a hand on Nines shoulder. “It takes work though. I wish I could say ‘don’t rush.’ But, well. It’s in a week.” 

Connor pulls Nines into a hug, with his arms around Nines’ neck. Nines arms haltingly wrap around Connors torso. 

“You are a great brother and a great person. You deserve a person who matches that greatness.” Connor pulls back to look into Nines eyes. “I’ve seen your pure, unprotected side. It is beautiful. And I hope you find someone who you feel comfortable enough with to show that side to.” 

Nines is speechless. “I...Connor..”

Connor grins. “Just say thanks. I know I’m good with this stuff.” 

Nines smirks shakily. “Cheeky.” 

Connor smacks Nines shoulder. ‘Yup! Guess who I learned it from? Anyway, I’ve got to get back to the palace. I’ll see you there.” 

Connor squeezes Nines extra tight, making him cough, before letting go and swimming towards the palace, which is quite close now. They are just outside the palace fence. 

Nines rubs his eyes, emotionally drained and not wanting to cross to the other side of the fence. It feels like an important line to cross, and he’s not up to carrying the responsibility, yet. He looks at the sky before looking for a place to curl up in the sun. Lyki had dropped to the ground next to his tail when Connor hugged him and is now swimming lackadaisically towards a promising looking sun-patch. Nines simply follows. The previous night of tossing and turning with dread about his upcoming engagement day has left him too tired to try and derail her from her lazy search. Trailing after her, he sees a smooth gray boulder skirted by seaweed and algae. The top of it is thankfully flat and big enough for him to drape himself across, not counting his tail, which dangles off the edge and onto the sand. Lyki curls up next to his head and he tilts his head to make one of her fins brush his cheek. He stares into the distance, looking at nothing. The sun is warm and his eyelids start to drop. He’ll just close them for five minutes……

****

...

****

“Hey, kid. You can’t sleep out here all day long.”

Nines eyes snap open. Hank is leaning over him, smirking.

Nines sits up and realised that he flipped over in his sleep. What ever happened to five minutes?

“Um.” Nines blinks at Hank, who is leaning back with his arms crossed, looking amused. 

Hank offers a hand to Nines as he scoots off of the rock. Nines takes it and brushes the sand off of his tail. Hank starts going back in the direction of the palace. 

“Your brother came back to the palace two hours ago. You were napping here for that time?” 

Nines cleared his throat and flushed some water through his gills to get rid of the strange tang in them. “I….guess. It was only supposed to be five minutes.” 

Hank laughs- if you can call an amused huff laughter. It was as close as he had come since fifteen years ago, when his son and wife disappeared in the forest while on a camping trip.

“Well, next time you decide to take a nap, can you do it within the palace grounds? Makes my job as your bodyguard a little easier.” 

Nines nods. The emotional weight from the morning was still with him, and it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere fast.

Hank notices and taps Nines on the shoulder with the back of his hand. 

“Why the long face?,” he asks. 

Nines presses his lips together in thought. He knows Hank knows the reason, at least partially. But saying it all again seems so sapping…

Luckily Hank saves him the trouble.

“Worried about the big day?” 

Nines hums. “Something like that.”

They’ve arrived at the palace grounds entrance gate and Hank places a hand on the gate lock. It glows and cracks down the middle before melting into the surrounding gate. 

Nines and Hank head inside and suddenly the palace door is in front of Nines and he’s backing up. He doesn’t want to have to speak to his father, not yet. He just needs one more moment.

Hank sees his gills start to flutter faster and swims in front of him, obstructing his view of the door.    
“You know what? I think I’ve got something for this situation.” 

Hank swims around the side of the palace to a set of doors that reads ‘Guard quarters’. Nines follows, curious. 

Hank presses his hand to one of the doors and it turns translucent before disappearing. He leads Nines inside and the door reappears behind them. 

Nines has been in the guard quarters before, but when he was much younger. And yet, nothing has changed. He remembers the childhood rush of adventure and smiles.

Hank keeps going down the hall until he reaches a door with the name “Anderson” on it. Hank presses his hand to this door as well and it disappears like the main entrance did. Nines hesitates at the door frame and Hank looks expectantly back at him. Upon seeing Nines doubtful face, he huffs his strange laugh. If it were someone else, it might have been a chuckle.

“Just trust me,” he says, and turns his back to move further into the room. 

Nines traces the door frame with a finger before inching inside the room. Hank is kneeling next to his bed, rustling a hand around underneath. He makes a triumphant noise and pulls out a box. 

“Here we are. Haven’t opened this thing in a while….” Hank’s lip twists and his eyebrows draw together. His tone lowers before saying, “Never thought I would have a reason to.”

Nines looks over Hank’s shoulder. “What is it?”

Hank straightens and puts it on the bed. “It’s a box, obviously,” he says in deadpan.

Nines looks playfully irritated. “Yes, thank you, I have eyes.”

He returns the playful nature. “Oh really? Good for you. I also, in fact, have eyes. Handy things.” 

Hank clears his throat. “What’s inside the box is what I’m after. “ 

He prys the lid off and pulls something from within. Off of a thin, short chain hangs a pendant of a stone that reminds Nines of drying lava. Or a walnut. Both are equally as accurate. 

“This,” Hank starts, “is called crab agate. But this one is raw, not that pretty spotted stuff you see in the market.” 

Nines raises an eyebrow. “Ok?” 

Hank holds up a finger. “I’m getting there. The stone is known for giving strength, if you believe in that kinda stuff. Either way, I used to wear it during any battle I had to go through. And, well, I’m still alive in front of you, ey?” 

Nines nods. “Where is this going exactly? I appreciate the mini geology lesson. Just, what do I do with this information?”

Hank holds out his free hand, palm up, expectant. Nines tilts his head, confused, but places his hand on top of Hanks, palm down. Hank shakes his head. 

“Flip it.”

Nines follows suit and flips his hand. Hank drops the chain and pendant into his open hand.    
“Maybe it’s not much, but I hope you get as much use out of it as I did.”

Nines looks down the the stone pendant, which is wrapped in a cage of wire with a loop on top so it may be put onto the chain. 

“Thank you. Can I get you a replacement? Where did you get it?”

Hank’s eyes fall to the floor and his lip shifts again. “From someone very special.”

Hank shakes his head, like a dog shaking off water. 

“But hey! It’s fine. An ol’ bastard like me can’t use it in battle anymore.”

Hank pats Nines’ shoulder firmly and Nines grips the pendant tighter in his fist. The stone feels warm and he looks down at it. It pulses with a very faint orange light two times. 

Like a heartbeat. 

Nines blinks rapidly in surprise. 

“Wha-,” he starts, but Hank is already out the door and heading back towards the entrance. Nines briskly swipes his tail to follow him.

“Alright, you little rascal. So-”

“I’m not little anymore, Hank.” Nines interrupts. 

Hank rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Smug bastard,” he huffs. “Listen. Piece of advice.”

He looks sternly at Nines. “Life is like riding a hippocampus for the first time--as first, it seems like you are on an uncontrollable beast that does whatever the hell pleases them. 

But if you look closer, you see that you’re holding the reins and that the beast is simply waiting for your instructions so it can take you where you need to go.”

Nines stays silent, processing.

Hank clears his throat. “Ok, I’m done,” he says. He holds his hands up. “Go ahead and ignore that if you want. Won’t hurt my feelings.”

Nines shakes his head and smiles. “No, its good advice. Thank you. “

Hank raises his eyebrows in faux surprise. “Woah, what was that? A smile? Is the world ending?”

So that’s where Connor gets that. 

“Hilarious,” Nines says flatly. 

He swims towards the now open door after Hank and looks back towards the palace entrance. 

Time to face the music. 

Hank waves as he swims away in thegeneral direction of the stables. Nines clutches the pendant and feels the warm pulse again. He feels around for the latch and fastens it around his neck. The short chain lays comfortably and the pendant sits in the space where his collar bones meet. He swishes his tail, feeling the water move through the spines. He spins and tracks his tail as it glides behind him. He flexes his fins. 

He’s delaying. 

He twists back upright, squares his shoulders, and heads for the palace entrance. He reaches for the handle and hesitates. He feels the pulse of the pendant and breathes. 

He opens the door to see his father moving towards it. Kamski’s eyes widen momentarily before he smiles.

Nines raises his head slightly higher. “Let’s talk.”

Kamski tilts his head proudly. “Ok then.”

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> getting up in our feelings, are we?   
> Next chapter is Gavin!


	3. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's our lovable grump! He doesn't feel so lovable though....we can fix that. Or...fic that?  
> ok ill leave

Gavin swipes his tail in a burst of energy as he leaves the coral ring with Thefki. He hasn’t been into town to work yet, but the brief dance in the ring got his blood flowing. If he had been a ‘good little dance boy’- as his boss eloquently puts it- he would have practiced the show routine. But no. He decided to have some fun and his boss could suck it. 

Not like being a show dancer isn’t fun. He just likes to change up his pace sometimes. The professional routines are usually slower and put more emphasis on the grace of a fluidly moving body instead of telling a story with that movement. But, hey, philosophy isn’t what brings in the dough. Being appealing on stage is. It’s good enough for Gavin. 

Utterly lost in his thoughts, Gavin nearly smacks nose first into Thefki’s tail as she insists upon swimming directly in front of his face. 

“You’re in my way again,” Gavin declares. He swats his hand at the tail before grabbing it, flipping his body, and impelling backwards to counter the force of the shark, who was currently being rude. 

Now at a full stop, Thefki looks backwards at him. Gavin glares at her. 

“No treats for you if you continue to be a bad shark.” 

Thefki starts trying to swim away, dragging the ever-lanky Gavin with her. 

“No! Bad! Hey!” Gavin is punted off by a particularly determined kick from Thefki. 

Gavin watches as she swims away without a backwards glance. 

“Why do I always get the obnoxious pets?,” he sighs to himself.

He continues on his way, all by his lonesome, towards the Jeiiko kingdom. 

His eyes follow a stray clown fish on its way to an anemone, his tail subconsciously propelling him forward when his eye is caught by an iridescent glint.  

His eyes widen as they fall upon a stone that looks like a nebula is trapped inside. 

Blue, black, green, and rust orange collide into each other, splintering into thread-like fractures. Black blooms into the mix like ink in paint and seeps into the fractures. Blue crowds the orange into a flush of azur blue. 

Gavin delicately picks up the kaleidoscopic masterpiece of color. Before he can even start thinking about what it’s meant to be, it warms in his palm. Shit, did he accidentally pick up a sea witch’s bespelled rock or something? 

It pulses a periwinkle blue light once, like a cut-off heartbeat.  

Gavin drops it in shock. It lands and creates a plume of soft white sand on impact that settles back down around it. 

Did Gavin just get cursed or something? He’s never seen anything glow like that accept glowlights which are  _ supposed  _ to glow and aren’t possibly cursed. 

But...well...if he’s already cursed, why leave such a pretty stone behind? He could incorporate it into his already overly complicated dance outfit, which is quite frankly closer to being lingerie than it is a professional dance suit. 

But beggars can’t be choosers. (Not that Gavin minds. He knows he looks good in it.)

He thinks of it like it’s super risqué, but really, it’s just different from regular mer clothing.

Merpeople don’t usually wear a lot of clothes like humans. The average outfit is just a necklace, bracelet, or hip belt. On special occasions, a formal kelp chest cover with a decorative belt that connects through an equally detailed stomach fastener.

He smirks as he thinks about his dance costume. It has been designed not to be too simple and plain, but also not too over the top. It  _ is  _ designed to make him look good, however.

It is made of braided seaweed adorned by round blue fish scales, imitating sequins. Which is all looped around his neck like a collar. Baby starfish cling to his collarbone to accentuate it and scales drape down his back and wrap around his waist, ending to sit where his tail meets his torso, directing the viewer to look at his lower half and especially his tail. Strings of scales come from the middle of his chest, twining down to finish by resting at his hips edge.

….So like a crop top, just. Crazy fancy.

Gavin scrutinizes the stone. “If you’ve cursed me with anything, I’m dropping you off a cliff.”

The stone blinks it’s periwinkle light again, as if it understood. 

Satisfied that they’ve come to an agreement, Gavin closes his fingers around the stone and continues on his way. He has to stop by his home to pick up his dance uniform, and thinks that he can make the stone into a fashionable choker necklace while he’s there. 

He can be cursed in style!

Gavin twitches his shark tail, pleased, and continues on his way.  When he arrives he realizes he’s running late, so he darts in the doorway and grabs his bag from the wall hooks. He peeks inside the bag to confirm his outfit is there, and turns to leave. On his way he grabs a spare piece of kelp cloth to tie the stone in for a necklace, and briskly swims back out the door. He rushes off to join his dance partner in time for their show in the Jeiiko town center. No time to create this thing now, it’ll have to be after the show.

The town is a crazy melting pot of different kinds of merpeople. Many can be seen bustling about from food stalls and jewelry stores to everything in between. The town was big, but Gavin dances in the market, on a grand stage right smack in the middle, like a centerpiece on a cake.

He swims in from overhead and then directly down into the left wing, where the pay booth is. Waiting behind it, sitting with her tail up on the desk, while she slowly files her nails with a pumice stick, is Tina. She looks bored. As Gavin approaches, she looks up and grins. 

“Hey, look what the catfish dragged in!,” she jokingly cheers as she sits up.

“Well, I’m not late, so hush ya’ face,” Gavin snarks back.

Tina removes herself from the chair, her neon parrotfish tail flicking and stretching. She pops her back. 

“I was growing old and grey waitin’ for your prissy ass,” she hums as she flexes her shoulder blades. 

Gavin scoffs. “Prissy? You ever look in a mirror? Your warm up routine is longer and- oh right-  _ prissier _ , than mine.”

Tina looks at him with an overly affronted expression on her face, and then winks.

“Tell me who gets more tips from the crowd and then we’ll talk about your so called ‘prissy’.”

Gavin looks unimpressed. “You know that most of my tips are delivered direct to the pay booth. Just because I don’t have mers who want to stuff money in my fins… “

Tina shrugs. “More for me then. Don’t come whining to my doorstep if you get a shekel or two less than me.”

Gavin waves her off with a hand. “Oh, I’m not. Have you seen where some of those mers hold their money? Um, ew. They can keep it.” 

The extra would be nice, but it’s not like it would break him. 

Gavin pulls his costume out of his bag and starts the process of putting it on. Slip the neck piece over his head, fasten the waist wrap, tie the chest decorations to the waist wrap…

Gavin goes to the costume wall for the final piece; the baby starfish that cling to his collarbones. They live in a nursery, happily doing whatever baby starfish do until they grow too big and are moved to the grown stars habitat. From there, they’re used as breast covers for stability to the dancer. But while they live in the dancer nursery, they are live decorations. Totally harmless to them. 

“Ready to go, sea snail?,” Tina asks from where she’s leaning on the wall next to the stage entrance door, already in costume which is identical to Gavin’s. The only change is that she wears grown starfish breast covers. Keeps the things from bouncing around and annoying her when she dances. 

“If that’s a prod at my slowness-”

“It is,” Tina interrupts smugly. 

“Then remember I did get here after you, and you were already dressed,” Gavin finishes.

“Eh. Technicalities,” Tina dismisses as she turns her back to Gavin and opens the door to the stage. “Come on, crowd’s waiting.”

Gavin makes double-sure that his starfish are secure and follows Tina onto the stage. 

The music starts….

With the first notes he’s whisked away into a different world of melody, resonance and movement. His body is just a tool used to shape out emotion. The sound waves push his back into an ark, his tail into a curl, his arms reach upward. The music pulls strings while it puppets him across the stage. 

He and Tina’s eyes meet and she winks. He acts like a hard-ass about dancing but she knows him well enough to see when he’s enjoying the dance. 

Spin, twist, flick, bend. Turn, dip, lash, splay arms…

His mind flickers back to the singing he sometimes hears in the kelp garden and dancing to it, fueled by the emotion in it. Reminds him of a certain voice and blue silver eyes.....

He threads his tail around one of Tina’s arms and spins her out, watching as her tail ribbons behind her. His eyes flick to the crowd for just a second. He sees a couple of women that come to see them regularly, a couple teens gawking at their skill, a Jeiiko palace guard next to Prince Markus and King Carl….

Wait...WHAT?!

Tina yanks his tail a little harder than the routine calls for. His entire body enters into a horizontal twirl and he loses sight of the Jeiiko royalty. Thank Poseidon that he’s got good muscle memory, because he isn’t thinking about the moves he’s currently following through with. Was that the King? And the Prince?! Both, here, in the market, watching him and Tina dance? He’s got to be dreaming or something.

A part of the routine where he and Tina link arms and line their bodies up next to each other and facing opposite directions comes and when her arm is linked with his, she pinches him.

“Yes, it’s real, I see them too, and we need to finish the dance.” She hisses into his ear subtly. 

Gavin is slightly in shock as he does the final roll that turns into a one arm handstand and holds it. The crowd cheers and starts to disperse. 

Gavin and Tina wave to the crowd and go backstage. As soon as they get there, Tina smacks his arm and he blinks. She looks annoyed. 

“Dude. What was that?” 

Gavin sputters. “What do you mean? That’s the  _ King. _ And Prince Markus! Watching our show!”

Tina pauses to think about. “Ok. Fair point.” 

She’s about to continue, when they hear King Carl’s voice coming from the stage they had just exited..

Tina and Gavin peek out the curtain. King Carl and Prince Markus stand proud on the stage and a mass has very much gathered. People pack together to listen. 

“Hello, everyone. It’s lovely to see all of you healthy and well,” King Carl begins. 

The crowd hums with respect. 

The king waves his hand. “I have a very important announcement for all to hear!” 

The entire market falls silent within seconds and the king nods in gratitude before gesturing to prince Markus beside him.    
“My son, Prince Markus, has turned 21 and that means his engagement day approaches quickly! I have discussed with King Kamski that his son is also turning 21. The two kingdoms with have a joint engagement party for the two princes, Prince Markus and Cyliea Prince Nines. It will be held within Cylia grounds. Any and all possible suitors must register within the week if they wish to attend the grand celebration!”

King Carl places a hand on Markus’s shoulder.   
“Prince Markus will be a judge of character at the party. If you think you are worthy, register and attend.” 

King Carl thanks the crowd and gestures for the prince to lead them off. 

Gavin and Tina glance at each other.

“Wow,” Tina breathes.

“Yeah,” Gavin agrees. That was…impressive. King Carl’s presence is powerful. Gavin can’t help but wonder if Markus will be the same when he becomes king. 

He and Tina wander towards the pay booth to collect their money, but as soon as they round the corner, they both freeze. 

Both the king and Prince Markus are hovering in front of the desk.

The current pay booth cashier looks very flustered and as soon as she spots Tina, she stumbles over herself to grab onto Tina’s arm, hauling her behind the desk. 

“U-um, she’s, she’ll take care of you, sirs! I mean, your majesty and highness!,” the cashier blushes a bright blue that takes up her entire face and neck and she tumbles into a different room as fast as she can, leaving Tina and Gavin with a very amused looking King Carl and Prince Markus. 

“Uh. Can I help you, your majesty?,” Tina asks, her voice cracking on the last word. She clears her throat. 

King Carl smiles and nods, gesturing to Prince Markus. 

“My son had something to say to your friend.” 

They all look at Gavin, who thinks he may be having a mild heart attack. The Prince wanted to talk to him? A simple dancer? What the ever-merciful fuck? 

Prince Markus approaches Gavin and bows slightly. He rights himself and holds out a hand.  

”May I?”

Gavin hesitantly lays his hand in Markus’s and Markus presses his forehead to Gavin’s knuckles; an ancient show of respect and, in some cases, affection. 

Gavin swears that his face is so hot he might as well be on fire. 

I very much enjoyed your dancing, and would be honored to make your acquaintance. May I ask your name please?,” Prince Markus hums.

“Um. It’s Gavin,” he answers. What’s going on?

Markus smiles, friendly. “It’s wonderful to meet you. In fact, I would love to talk to you more. Would you be my guest at the engagement party?,” Markus asks. 

Gavin’s brain just turned to stone. Prince Markus wasn’t really his type, like, at all, but. A prince was asking him, simple little Gavin, to be his special guest. 

“I. I would be honored. Your highness,” Gavin forces out through a tight throat. 

Markus smiles. “I’m very glad. Please come to the palace the day of the party at twelve in the afternoon, I will meet you at the front gate.” 

Gavin nods dumbly and Prince Markus told King Carl he was going to go back to the hippocampus outside, in preparation to depart. All three people left in the room were silent for a short spell as Prince Markus left until Tina addresses the King.

“Can I...help you?,” she hesitates. 

King Carl nods and places a large duffel bag on the desk that clinks as it’s lands. 

“This is for you and your friend.” When he’s given confused looks, he continues, “For the wonderful show.” 

Tina looks like the king just told her that she was the new owner of the world. Fortunately, the king has already turned away from North. Fortunate for her. Not for Gavin, who feels like his heart is having a rave in his chest, complete with party poppers and flashing lights. 

King Carl speaks. “And thank you for agreeing to be a guest. Markus has been looking for a while.”

Gavin blinks. “Of. Of course. I’m honored. And I, uh,  look forward to talking to Prince Markus more.”

The king raises a wrinkled eyebrow. “Don’t force yourself to be with Markus.”

Gavin opens his mouth, only for no sound to come out. His baffled face must speak for him because King Carl smiles understandingly. 

“Of course, don’t let me, or the world, tell you who you should be or not be with. I know that Markus is a good leader and a good man. But let your heart tell you if Markus is the right one for you, Gavin. Not the pressure of royalty.” 

Gavin is shocked. The king thinks of these things? He’s impressed. 

“Oh, um. Thank you, your Majesty. I think…it will be ok.”

King raises an eyebrow and Gavin mildly panics. 

“I know my personal boundaries, your Majesty. And Prince Markus seems great!,” he amends. 

King Carl hums and smiles. “No worries. I only mention it because it seemed to me that, while you were dancing, there was a certain...shine in your eye, and movement in your body that I have seen many times before.”

What?

The king continues. “Is there anyone you think of when you see a particularly bright star in the sky?”

Gavin immediately thinks of the singing in the kelp forest and of a different, Cyliea born Prince. Blue eyes, quiet and precise. Handsome….hold on, no. Yes?

Was the singing in the forest Prince Nines?!

Gavin stammers. “I-how-”

The king nods. “Whoever you just thought of, don’t ignore that. Follow that feeling.”

Gavin is blown away, first by the king’s observant skill, and second by his own softness. Prince Nines?? Really? His heart was a traitor. 

The king sees his internal battle and pats him on the back.

“Think about it,” Carl says before swimming out the same door that Prince Markus did. 

Through the window, Gavin sees him swim up to a black hippocampus held by a guard and get on. Prince Markus is already on his brown hippocampus, and waves to Gavin. Gavin raises a stunned hand to half-wave back and then watches as they ride away, back towards the palace. 

What the hell just happened. 

He feels utterly dazed and looks back at the huge bag of money on the desk. Tina is hiding her face behind her hands. 

“What?,” Gavin asks.

Tina convulses and snorts, sending bubbles rising from her nose, before bursting into laughter. 

“Tina, you traitor!” Gavin starts laughing too. 

Tina attempts to choke down her chuckles and fails. 

“That was surreal. My little guppy Gav, all grown up and going to marry a prince!”

Gavin wheezes.

“I’m not going to marry Prince Markus!,” Gavin retorts.

Tina wiggles her eyebrows. “So how about Prince Nines then?”

Gavin chokes on his own spit and bubbles rise from his mouth.

“No, piss off! I’m- stop laughing!,” he scolds as his face warms significantly.

Gavin scoops roughly half of the money from the bag into his empty costume bag quickly. Tina is relentless. She won’t stop the teasing until he’s gone.

Tina grins audaciously. “I call being maid of honor at the wedding.”

Gavin swims away with a flat dismissal.

“No weddings are happening. Never. None. ”

Tina calls after him, “Don’t come whining to me with your inevitable feelings!”

Gavin swims away from the booth, head down in a poor attempt to hide his brilliant blush, with his hand up to flip off Tina. He hears her laugh as he moves away. 

As he makes his way towards a store, it sinks in that he’s going to be in Cylia kingdom in a week. Shit, he’s going to be in the same room as both Prince Markus and Prince Nines. He has to watch as Prince Nines is courted by others. That sends a jealous sting into his throat. 

Wait.

Why is he suddenly so hung up on someone he’s never even talked to? Sure, he’s seen and heard him singing, which is admittedly probably supposed to be secret. And they have a lot in common. He only reveals who he really is when he’s alone. 

Gavin certainly knows that Nines glows and blooms like a flower in the sun when he sings alone in the forest. He’s never seen that kind of passion and emotion when the Cylia royal family holds public announcements. Nines always seems astute in kingdom matters, but also distant and even cold. 

Maybe Gavin is reading too much into it because he wants and wants and-

But he isn’t lonely. He isn’t. He has love from North. He has a friend in Tina. The crowd always loves him when he dances, when he is dazzling. 

He has that and it’s been enough. It’s fine. He doesn’t need more. 

So why does he want more so bad it hurts?

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

Gavin’s head snaps up. Crap. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost bumped into some old lady. 

“Um, sorry miss,” he gulps, feeling utterly guilty. 

The old lady nods and ambles off into the crowd. Gavin shakes himself. 

He can’t get into his head, it lowers his productivity. What was he doing?

Right, going to the tailors. He needs a top suit for the party.

He traipses past the window, eyeing the top suits. The shop owner recognizes him from within the store and waves him inside. 

Gavin hesitates and the show keeper waves impatiently. 

When Gavin enters, the shopkeeper meets him. 

“I saw you giving my top suits a thorough glaring. What’s the occasion?,” the keeper asks.

Gavin huffs. “Hello to you too, Rupert. And, uh,” he coughs, “Prince Markus invited me to his engagement party as his guest.”

Rupert looks like he just walked into a pole and then the pole handed him a birthday present. 

“You, you...You’re shitting me!”

Gavin mumbles that Prince Markus was eyeing him with interest during his latest show and apparently decided to act on it.

Rupert whoops. “Hey, get some, Gavin!”

Gavin’s cheeks burn again. “Not so sure about that. Anyways, now I need a top suit. And an expert eye.”

Rupert snaps his fingers. “You came to the right octopus then.”

He unfurls his eight bristly blue spotted arms from under himself and jets himself over to the black top suits in the window. 

He hums and tilts his head every which way before shaking his head. 

“What’s wrong?,” Gavin asks, concerned. 

“I have an idea. “ Rupert cryptically replies. 

“Ok?”

Rupert turns and disappears into the back of the store through a door. He’s only gone for  a moment before returning with a pale blue top suit with two long, wide white ties around the back. 

“How’s this?,” Rupert asks.

Gavin remembers seeing white seagulls flying against a pale blue sky and compares the white back-ties to the white wings of the gulls. It’s mildly ironic that he lives in the sea and is dressed to match the sky, but it could be a fun dichotomy.  

“Wow..” he can’t help but express his appreciation. 

“What?”

“It’s great.“

“Really?,” Rupert’s eyebrows raise. “No one else seems to think so.”

Gavin scoffs. “They must be blind.”

Rupert beams. “Thanks.”

Gavin can’t see a price tag on it so he asks, “How much is it?”

Rupert shrugs and says, “Eh, twenty shekel?”

Gavin’s eyebrows shoot up.

“That’s it??!”

Rupert shrugs again, like he isn’t giving Gavin a huge discount. 

“It’s only taking up space here. Really, you’re doing me a favor! So, yes.”

Gavin puts his palm to his heart in disbelief. He thought he was going to have to drop a ton of money on this thing.

“Shit, Rupert, thank you. Really. That deal is….amazing. Are you sure you aren’t screwing yourself over with that price?.“

Rupert thwaps Gavin on the chest with the back of his hand.

“Yes! It’s fine. Like I said, you’re doing me a favor! I should be thanking you.”

“Well, you just did, so we’re even. “

Gavin gives Rupert the coins, takes the topsuit and strokes his hand down the front in admiration. He smiles in satisfaction and admiration. 

Not bad. Not bad at all. 

There’s a voice behind them and Rupert looks up. Another customer.

Rupert clears his throat and says cheerfully, “well, I’ll be seeing you. Good luck, Gavin!”

Gavin moves for the door and grins appreciatively at Rupert as he chuckles, “Yeah, thanks. I’ll probably need it.”

After exiting the shop, he knows his first and last stop is the bank, which he immediately heads for. He didn’t usually have enough to add lots to his savings] account, but this is blowing his mind. He feels different with so much available to him all at once. He swims a little prouder. However, if he’s being honest with himself, carrying this much money around is also giving him one hell of the case of the jitters. 

Once done at the bank, there’s no real reason to stick around town any longer than he has to, so he jets home to share the news with North. 

If she’s there. She might be on another patrol with the guards.

Ever since her success with stopping some genius serial killer in the farming district, she’s been getting job after job from the guards. Gavin didn’t really know if that counted as good in an assassin like North’s book, but hey. She was bringing in bank and less and less notices about dangerous mers were being posted around the kingdom, so she must be doing something right. 

Regardless if North was there or not, Gavin had to get home. With a impatient twist of his tail, he gains speed and cruises forwards. 

It had already been a hell of a day and it was only just after noon! He feels dizzy as the days happenings mentally sink in.

Found a stone that has a cool but mysterious light…..was asked to be Prince Markus’s special guest…..and realized that he may or may not be interested in getting to know a different prince a little better. 

Of course, that last one is just a wild convoluted daydream. 

In terms of being Prince Markus’s date….he got the suit special for the engagement party. Can he make it any better? He has some spare abalone buttons at the house…..he should certainly make the stone into a choker…

His thoughts stop short when he feels a tug in his throat. It isn’t like anything he’s ever felt before, clutching and heavy, making his lip curl and his muscles bunch. His throat feels tight and the space between his his collar bone feels….unoccupied. Of course it does, there’s nothing there. So why does it feel like there should be? 

He presses a finger to the dip that the meeting of his collarbones makes. He can feel his heartbeat…..ok, so what?

He sees a blinking flash from his bag. The stone? 

He reaches into his bag to retrieve the luminous glow from within and when he touches the stone, he gets a shock like static. 

The tugging feeling in his throat has stopped as quickly as it started. It has now been replaced by...an elevated heartbeat. He feels his pulse, and his heart rate is steady. 

So whose heartbeat is he feeling?! Through a stone, no less. Does someone else have a magic stone? Is he going crazy???

He takes the stone from his bag and looks at it. The same periwinkle light from when he first picked it up is pulsing, rapidly. Like it’s panicking. 

For an unexplainable reason, he feels like he has to comfort it. Though it is just a stone….

Ok, he’s crazy. Which is his excuse to press the stone between his collarbones. 

As soon as the stone sinks into the divot, he’s flooded with feeling, like he’s been punched in the gut with fear. He grabs the hand holding the stone to his sternum with the intent to pull it away, but his mind suddenly is filled with images.

_ Something big, grabbing, yanking…. _

_ Crystal closing over his eyes, and cold. So, so cold. _

His mind fuzzes and...and…..

And then it’s gone, like a forgotten memory. 

He blinks hard. His hand falls away from his body, away from where the stone had pressed. 

The stone is quiet in his palm and the pulse is gone, like it’s sleeping.

He feels….peculiar. As if the earth’s axis has slipped a degree. 

But he’s never been one to dwell, so he shakes himself and decides that he’ll think about just how messed up that was later. It’s been that kind of surreal day practically since it began. Why would the pattern change now?

Shoving the stone back into the depths of his bag, he pushes himself through the water towards his home. 

As  he approaches the cabin, he notices something on the front step. Small, thin, silver, and sleeping right where he needs to be in order to unlock the door. When he draws closer, it stirs and flicks its tail. Gavin is just short of astounded. 

“A catfish?”

The catfish swims up to him and nuzzles his cheek in it’s way past his head and onto his shoulders. As it passes his face, he sees its tail collar with the word ‘Lyki’ imprinted into it. 

Gavin smiles softly and reaches up to stroke down the cat’s spine and over it’s dorsal fin. It rolls on his neck in appreciation. 

“So Lyki, who do you belong to?,” he asks as Lyki swims under his chin and snuggles him. “Don’t see many catfish around here….”

He heads for the door and Lyki follows, hovering like a hummingbird over his shoulder. 

As soon as he cracks open the door, the silver catfish darts inside so fast, its image blurs.

“Hey! Cat! This isn’t your house!,” Gavin grumps half heartedly. Like he’s gonna kick it out. How could anyone do that to such a cute cat?

He hangs his bag back on the wall hook and nearly hesitates, thinking about the stone. Should he take it with him? 

Lyki swims up to his hand and nudges it, derailing his train of thought. With one look back at his bag, he leaves it and hopes the throat tugging doesn’t come back. 

He goes to the kitchen, thinking North would appreciate if he preps the oysters so they can cook them for dinner. Lyki follows, brushing up against and swirling around his tail. 

Gavin smirks. “Needy, aren’t you?”

He bends down to attempt to pick it up and calm it, but it bumps into his hand insistently and zips to the door without another moment’s pause. It rubs against the door, whiskers twitching. 

Gavin scoffs. “Are you trying to boss me in my own house?,” he continues in an imperious tone, “Don’t you know who I am, cat?”

It just stares at him from the door and he lets his shoulders fall.

“Weak for adorable little cats like you.” 

He moves to the door and glares at the cat.

“You’re really putting a fish shaped wrench in my plans, y’know,” he complains fruitlessly. 

Lyki just pushes up against the door harder and Gavin rolls his eyes so hard he practically sees the fourth dimension. 

“Fine. I’m kinda curious to see where you come from anyway,” he states as he opens the door. 

Lyki shoots out the door and swirls in a circle before swimming back to Gavin, who is still in the doorway. 

“Alright, I’m coming, fine.”

He follows, puzzled by the cat but just as curious where it was taking him. 

Lyki maneuvers the kelp, coral, and rocks and Gavin is helpless but to follow. They were steadily making their way towards the Cylia kingom and Gavin grew wary. What if he was mistaken for an intruder? He didn’t have any ID on him. 

Lyki passes through the coral ring where he had been dancing earlier and keeps going without slowing at all. Again, Gavin follows, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

They grow closer and closer, until they are just outside the tall coral wall that serves as part of the Kingdom fence. He can easily see the Cylia court garden, in all its glory, through the fence, including the sunning rocks, bubble fountain, and huge trees of moss and branches. 

Whoever was in charge of décor knew what they were doing. 

Lyki ducks between the coral of the fence and into the space of the Cylia kingdom. Not a place Gavin can follow.

Lyki heads forwards toward the palace and around a corner. 

Oh. So that’s done. 

Gavin tilts his head, vaguely disappointed. But he got a little bit of time with the cute little cat, so he was thankful for what he had gotten. 

He leisurely starts swimming back home, but almost as soon as he gets there, he feels something lightly brush against his tail. 

Of course, it’s the same catfish he just went out of his way to escort home. He scoffs and goes inside, leaving the door open for the catfish. He finds something to write a note on and as soon as he is done writing, he beckons Lyki over with a click of his tongue. To his surprise, the mischievous little shit actually listens and arks into the hand that he puts out to pet it. He scoops Lyki close and tucks the note under its tail collar. Lyki doesn’t even flinch. 

He straightens and leads the way back to his front door, where Lyki rubs against his tail once more and then is off towards Cylia at an astounding pace. 

Gavin hopes that whoever is Lyki’s owner, they get his note. And if the universe was merciful, maybe he would get a reply too. 

****  
  



	4. ??????

**_More._ **

  
  


**_Watches over._ **

  
  


**_Pink._ **

 

**_Company._ **

 

**_Small._ **

**_Company._ **

 

 

 

**_……..sweet?_ **

**_Tart._ **

**_Excited._ **

 

**_GO._ **

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who the royal fuck was that


	5. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woops long chapter  
> things are heating up in the ocean!

“In terms of foreign letters when travelling, carrying a book of customs in order to….,” a vaguely garbled voice droned out of the recording playing in the corner of the room that Nines was practicing in.

The indoor garden ring is always good for learning in peace and is therefore a popular haunt of Nines. 

Nines scowls. He is currently attempting to practice with the shell that Amanda designed for him. It supposedly will turn into whatever weapon he thinks of, so why does it keep morphing between a bow and a sword when he’s thinking of a spear?

It functioned just fine for his father earlier. He made it look so easy!

Does it depend on the time of day? It  _ was _ shortly after two in the afternoon….

The fluxshell morphs into something that is probably supposed to be a sword, but the blade is wiggly like a snake. Nines growls. 

“Am I doing something wrong? Or do you just have an attitude?,” Nines snits at it.

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, it turns into two thick sticks with spikes on the end of each, connected by a chain. 

Nines drops the mystery contraption in shock. “I don’t even know what that is!”

“It’s called a nunchuck,” a voice rumbles from the doorway.

Nines jumps so hard that the end of his tail snags on one of the spikes and a thin trail of blue follows. Nines make a noise of displeasure and grabs his tail, curling up on the floor, clutching it. He glares at Hank, who is still in the doorway.

“Isn’t it your job to  _ stop  _ me from getting hurt, Hank?”

Hank shrugs with one shoulder, the other being occupied by Lyki.

“Yeah, and that’s just a scratch. You aren’t going to bleed out.”

Nines rolls his eyes, still frustrated. “True, but you scare me into getting hurt all the time.”

Hank scoffs. “I think it’s your own fault this time, Nines.”

Nines continues to glare. “I believe it was, in fact, not me. It was the fluxshell. It’s broken. Or hates me... “

Hank drifts from the doorway to the forgotten nunchuck, which is half-morphed back into a fluxshell, and picks it up.

Hank raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yes, of course Nines, this  _ inanimate object _ totally has it out for you,” he teases as he drops the shell again.

Nines throws up his hands. “Yes! It does! Especially the….spiky, uh, thing.”

“A nunchuck,” Hank clarifies. 

“Upchuck??”

“No,  _ nun _ chuck.“

“Oh.”

Nines flushes. Appearing uneducated was always a sensitive subject  for him. 

Nines awkwardly unfolds his lanky body from under him and flicks his tail, gliding over to the forgotten audio recording, which is spouting something about, “using mid-sized bubbles to pronounce particularly difficult foreign nouns”. Nines taps it twice and it stops.

“So, are you here only to torment me?”

Hank huffs. 

“Nope,” he replies cheerily, popping the P. “As fun as that is, Lyki actually has something for you.”

Lyki wiggles out of Hanks hold and lands gracefully on the floor, upsetting the sand there. It poofs up around her, and she emerges from the cloud with a twist, ending up in front of Nines’ face, before circling his shoulders.

Nines catches her and gives her a stroke down her back. His hand ends up on her tail, where he finds a rolled up piece of paper under her tail collar.

“What’s this?,” Nines askes as he pulls the roll from out from where it’s wedged.

“No idea. She must have gone on one of her adventures and bothered someone enough to warrant them complaining. Finally.”

Nines looks scandalized. “My girl is nothing short of perfect, excuse you.”

“Right, yeah sure, perfect... Totally.“ Hank nods sarcastically. “Whatever. Open the note! And read it outloud, I’m curious.“

Nines puts Lyki down on the floor and unrolls the note.

****

Hey, 

Found your catfish outside my door today. Sweet little thing, always welcome at my place. Just letting you know that she wanders. I would appreciate if whoever you are would respond so I could contact you if Lyki- that’s its name, right?- ever gets in trouble here. No pressure.

-Riverreed

****

Nines raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Riverreed? What kind of name--?”

“I think it’s a codename, dingus,” Hank replies in a tone that heavily implies that the information was obvious.

Nines looks offended. “I’m the prince, you can’t call me that!”

Hank waves a hand to flout him.

“I’ve known you since you were a tiny little guppy who shat in open water instead of a toilet. I can call you whatever I want. Dingus.”

“Hank. No.” Nines’ tail curls with embarrassment as he places the note on the table in the room corner, 

“Hank, yes. You’re like my nephew. I get to do stuff like this,” Hank says as he turns back towards the door. “I also will always protect your life with my own body.”

Nines relents, “Ok, good point.”

Hank looks expectant. “Aaand?”

Nines lets his head fall into his palms, uncharacteristically expressive, just cause Hank finds it funny. “Thanks.”

Hank’s voice rumbles in what could be laughter. 

“There’s the gratitude! Was that so painful, ey?,” Hank badgers as he slowly swings his tail behind him, moving back out of the room and down the hall leading to it.

Nines sighs and picks up the fluxxshell from the ground to keep practicing. And keep failing, probably...

“Write him back!,” Hank’s holler booms from down the hall, interrupting Nines’ worry. 

Nines cringes at the pressure. Socializing? With a stranger? What if they figure out who he is and don’t like him? 

Ok, that was a little dramatic. 

Nines looks at the note again, which is on the table with the paused recording, and considers Hank’s words. Maybe he should try it...besides, this guy doesn’t know he’s talking to a prince. 

So he might treat Nines like….he has no idea. What would he treat him as? A normal person? What is a normal person treated like?

Before he can psych himself out, he finds a scrap of paper, a pen, and scribbles something half thought out across it. He tucks it under Lyki’s collar and she darts away like she’s been shot from a cannon.

Cat on a mission. Who knew? Nines is just surprised that she knows what to do. 

He contemplates the fluxshell on the floor. Did he really want to sacrifice his dignity to this stupid shell again?

…..yes. 

He picks it up reluctantly, holding it away from him in case it turns into that spiky nunchuck again. Instead, it turns into a clean silver spoon in between his fingers. Nines gawks at it. 

“What am I going to do with a spoon? Feed people their least favorite soup?”

Nines sighs and the fluxshell turned back into a shell that he rolls in his palm. 

“Maybe it’s telling me I’m hungry,” he hums. 

He surrenders, fed up with the piece of amazingly craptastic shit that the shell is turning out to be and how it feels like it’s insulting him. Maybe he needs to go see the in-palace counselor, he’s now anthropomorphizing a fucking shell. 

He drops the shell back on the table and follows Hank’s path down the hall. He turns and the hallway opens wider, expanding into the dining hall.

From the corner of his eye, he sees movement from behind the serving counter. As he turns to investigate, Amanda and Simon flit into sight, carrying armfulls of non-perishable food packets.

Nines wasn’t surprised. 

Amanda, as the head scientist of the kingdom, had been going on expeditions for a long time. And her trips have only become more frequent since Simon was sent over from Kingdom Jeiiko by King Carl to be a medical and scientific assistant to her. 

Simon was very sweet and quiet, which regularly surprises Nines, considering Simon grew up with Markus, the king of being loud. Oh wait, can you be a king and a prince at the same time?. 

According to King Carl, Simon had been pulled out of the rubble barely alive after the kraken attack. He has lost his entire family and was taken in by King Carl at the age of eight after Markus took a shine to him. 

Nines is careful to show his...distaste...of Markus around Simon, given that he’s Markus’s best friend. But judging how Simon talks about him, Simon feels a little more than just friendly towards Markus. (Not like that was Nines’ business.)

Approaching passively, Nines calls out inquisitively. “Where are you going this time?”

Amanda doesn’t even blink, her flat white tail ribboning behind her as she lifts her travel bag with ease onto the serving counter to place the preserved food inside. As always, the epitome of discipline and organization. 

“Prince Nines. Join us over here, won’t you?,” Amanda drawls.

Nines obeys and Amanda nods her head approvingly. 

Nines hates when she does that. As much as Nines appreciates her work, her attitude is….difficult.

“To answer your question,” Amanda starts, “we are going out to do research on weapons and defense design.”

“Again?” Nines already knows the answer, but if luck is on his side, Amanda will be distracted enough by the question not to ask him about his day. He’s already been insulted enough by the shell, he doesn’t need her passive aggressive disappointment on top of it. 

Amanda takes the bait and responds. 

“Yes, since the last kingdom scientist failed to make any progress whatsoever.”

Nines internally gathered his patience. “He did his best. The experiments have been unsuccessful for years, no one has been able to make them work.”

Amanda raises a thin eyebrow in disdain, pausing her packing. 

Simon noses in with perfect timing. “We think we’re onto something. We found some clues on what could be the final piece, so if the study and experimentation goes as we expect, it could change lives.”

Nines blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

Simon smiles, looking pleased with himself. “Yeah, so this work is very important.”

Nines clears his throat. “So, what are...what is it?”

Simon’s seal tail imitates a wag, like an excited puppy. His doe eyes match his energy well. 

“Sound wave science! Sound travels through water really well, so we want to see if we can find a certain controlled vibration that will act like solid matter. If we do, we need to find a way to recreate it and produce it. We could create so much! Fences, weapons, hunting tools…..”

Simon’s eyes gleam, on a roll. 

“You see, sound is a vibration that propagates as a typically audible mechanical wave of pressure and displacement, through a-”

Nines clearly looks lost, because Simon halts in the middle of his sentence. 

Feeling guilty, Nines quickly tries to explain his expression.

“Simon, my apologies, this science isn’t exactly my area of expertise. I’m better with…”

Nines halts. He was about to slip up and say a different kind of sound wave, his singing. But he hasn’t told anyone about his singing and hell if he will now. He coughs.

“Uh, languages. So I’ll stick to that. Thanks though.” 

That was close. Too close.

Simon doesn’t seem to notice the slip up and clears his throat. 

“Right, sorry. Got carried away. To sum it all up, we could create a lot of tools if we can get this to work.”

Nines faintly smiles. “That’s good.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Simon says with a smile. But the smile slips slightly from his face a moment later. He bites his lip, a nervous tick that Nines had seen him display before.

“Nines, this trip-” 

Amanda interrupts by placing a hand on Simon’s shoulder and he stops. 

“Simon, everything is prepared. Let us not delay.”

Simon’s face scrunches in frustration. “Amanda-”

Though Amanda’s face is calm, Nines can practically feel the scorn. He glances away. He’s been in Simon’s position. 

“Now, Simon. While there is still light.”

Simon hesitates and sighs before bowing his head reluctantly.

“Alright,” he relents before turning to Nines. “If we aren’t back by then, have a successful engagement party.”

Nines nods. “Thank you. Good luck.”

He watches as they heave their packs onto their bags and exit a back door that leads to where the hippocampus are kept. Once he can no longer see them from where he is hovering, Nines turns into the kitchen to find his two favorite chefs.

Jerry is kneading dough while his grey stingray wings slowly flapping behind him. 

As soon as Nines calls out to him, Jerry accosts him with a sunlight bright smile. 

“Hi Nines! It’s great to see you!,” he chirps before turning and calling into the storage room. “Kara, Nines is here! C’mon!”

Kara peeks her head around the corner expectantly and smiles fondly when her eyes find Nines. She turns back for a split second, the end of her black and white tail flicking into view, and Nines hears shuffling before Kara comes out from the back of the kitchen carrying a box full of ingredients. The box is nearly overflowing with colorful produce. 

“Hello Nines! You’re a nice surprise! How is the fluxshell practice going?,” she asks as she plunks the box onto the counter beside a cutting board.

Nines half shrugs. “Ah….slowly. “

Kara smiles sympathetically. “Well, just keep practicing. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.”

She lifts something vaguely resembling an aloe plant, if aloe glowed electric blue. 

Jerry flaps a pectoral fin and turns, informing Kara he was going into the storage room to get some spices. He disappears around the corner of the door frame, leaving Kara and Nines alone. She turns to him.

“You didn’t just come to visit, did you?,” she asks, friendly and caring.

Nines tips his head to the side. “Partially.”

Kara hums, signaling him to continue. Nines stays silent and Kara frowns.

“I can’t read your mind,” she prods. 

Nines raises a sarcastic eyebrow. “Could have fooled me.”

Kara looks blandly at Nines. “I’ve known you long enough to be able to pretty accurately guess what’s on your mind, but- shocker- I’m not a sea witch.”

Nines shrinks a little. Feelings were hard, and even harder to talk about.

“It’s about the party,’ he divulged. 

Kara looked satisfied. “And you’re worried about…?,” she prompted.

Nines cringes. His lack of cooperation was childish, at best. He had to spit the words out.

“Social things.”

Kara shifts her head encouragingly, her orca tail flicking. “A good start.”

Nines glares at her. She had an odd talent for breaking down his confident wall and reaching his true nature. Unfortunately, that nature was socially awkward. 

Kara sighs. “Ok, I’ll fill in the gaps. You’re afraid of mentally combusting when faced with the amount of social interaction that you will be at the party.” 

Nines purses his lips. She hit the nail on the head, like usual. Must be a mom thing. 

Kara clasps her hands together. “So, to avoid spontaneous combustion, which would be bad-”

“Spontaneous combustion is a good solution to any problem,” Nines interrupts. 

Kara blinks. “What?”

Nines shrugs. “Always gets you out of a situation quickly,” he replies, as if it is common logic. 

Kara stares at him with a twisted, confounded expression. They must have different experiences of logic. 

Nines clears his throat. “Forget I said that.”

Kara nods slowly. “O...kay…,” she mumbles. She shakes it off and shifts closer, putting her hands on Nines shoulders. 

Nines almost doesn’t notice the pendant around his neck warming, distracted by her stern, protective expression. 

“You know that I will always have your back. So does Luther. So-,” she cuts herself off. 

She stares at his neck.

“What?,” he quizzes, a little uncomfortable under her stare. 

Her eyes don’t move. “Where did you get that?”

Huh? He looks down and is alarmed to see the pendant glowing again, the faint orange light beating. But it’s frantic this time, pounding like a heart would if its owner was scared out of their mind. 

Nines felt his heart speed up as well when he saw a pale white flash from Kara’s wrist. His eyes flick towards the cause of the light. His eyes widen. On her bracelet is a charm. The stone is small, smooth, and clear. Golden spears, like the thinnest of golden thread, spike through the stone. Nines is mesmerized by the waves of white flashing.

It’s like it’s alive... 

“Nines!,” Kara snapped her fingers in front of his nose. “Where. Did. You. Get that.”

Nines jumps. “Uh, Hank gave it to me?”

Kara stares at the pendant so hard Nines feels like it might just melt. 

“Why do you ask?,” he queeries. She’s acting weird.

Kara blinks and withdraws. She lifts her wrist and cradles it, running a finger over the stone. 

“It hasn’t pulsed in fifteen years…I don’t understand…”

Nines raises an eyebrow, bewildered. “What do you mean?”

Kara squeezes the stone. “Do you remember Alice? The little girl me and Luther adopted shortly after we got married?”

Nines furrowed his eyebrows, his forehead wrinkling. Alice? He hadn’t heard her name for so long. Memories came floating to the surface of his mind.

She was one of his and Connor’s childhood friends. She was a couple years younger than them, but easily the bravest. She was the toughest and was always the leader of the group when they adventured outside. 

When the kraken attacked, she and Cole, along with Cole’s mother, were camping. The kraken passed right over where they were camping and they never came back. 

“I remember…,” he replies tentatively. 

Kara clenches her jaw and her lips purse. She gulps. 

“This stone-  _ these _ stones. Are used as bonds,” she says gloomily. 

Nines tilts his head in curiosity and draws out an, “Okay?”

Kara takes a deep breath and lets it out, sending bubbles whirling up from her mouth. 

“They can be used between two friends, lovers, two strangers that have similar souls and needs, a parent and a child….” She stops and her jaw clenches again, clearly overfilled with resurfacing grief. Nines tries not to look pitying, since he knows she hates that, but…

“You don’t have to keep going,” he whispers. 

Kara huffs and shakes out her arms. “No, this is important,” she says sternly. She looks directly into Nines’ eyes with determination. 

“Alice had a bracelet of her own at the foster home,” she starts. She rubs her wrist and the bracelet shifts under her touch. “I had inherited this one from my family. As soon as I put it on for the first time, which was a day after meeting with the foster manager, it was like….a star was being born in my heart.” 

Her eyes unfocus and look farway, like she’s in a different world in her head. 

“To feel her soul reaching for mine…….”

Kara blinks hard and the faraway look disappears. Nines raises an eyebrow and she clears her throat. 

“It turns out, the stones linked me and her together. Our need for each other was that strong. She needed a mother and I…….” 

She broke off again, looking down at the ground. Nines was left to his thoughts. 

The stones link people together?? So, was he linked to someone? Was that why it had pulsed a heartbeat pattern?

He opens his mouth to ask, but as soon as he does so, he is interrupted by Jerry’s voice.

“Nines, is there any particular dishes you want at your engagement party?,” Jerry chirps as he comes back into the room from the storage area.

Nines glances at Kara, who had been startled out of her thoughts, before answering. 

“I’ll leave that up to you. I trust your cooking skills.” 

Jerry laughs. “Actually, not me! Not Kara either. The other chefs. Already talked to them! Me, Kara, ‘n Luther are all coming to your engagement party!”

Nines feels his eyes grow wide. So all his closest friends can watch as he gets awkwardly flirted at and see him fail at socializing? No thanks.

Kara seems to have similar thoughts. “Wha- did you sign all of us up?”

Jerry looks innocently confused. “Yes? You don’t want to go, Kara?”

Kara falters. “Well, yes, I’d love to, but I- why didn’t you tell me?”

Jerry frowns, appearing even more confused. “I’m pretty sure I did.” 

Kara hums. “Maybe I forgot… and as long as the other chefs know and are ok with this…” 

She sighs and surrenders. “I guess we can go.” 

“Thanks, Kara!,” Jerry cheers. He turns to Nines. “This way we can be there for you.” 

Nines can’t reciprocate Jerry’s excitement, but expressing that would feel like kicking a puppy into traffic. So instead, he says, “Thank you. Just….don’t pull any pranks, please, Jerry. At least not anything big enough to affect the party.”

Kara raises an eyebrow slyly. “But I thought you didn’t want your engagement party, Nines. Something change your mind?”

Nines sputters. “I- uh, I don’t but-”

Kara and Jerry both grin, cheeky and impish. 

“Someone you’re interested in, Nines?,” Kara asks mischievously. 

Nines’ mind flickers back to the dancing man in the coral ring, and how the sun created stripes of light across his body. He flushes blue. His brain is a traitor!

“Definitely not. Not at all.”

Kara doesn’t miss any clues and smirks. “You sure? We could wingman for you.”

Oh boy. 

Jerry jumps in joy, his stingray tail swinging wildly. 

“Who are they? When’s the date? Where are you taking them? Oh, take them to the Sky Crystal Hill, it’s so pretty there, you can see all the stars in the sky and-”

Nines feels his shoulder muscles tense, making them ache. 

“Don’t get carried away-,” he tries intercepting Jerry’s rant.

Jerry ignores him, voice raising in elation. “Should I make a special dish for them? I could make-”

Nines snaps. 

“I only saw him for like two seconds!”

Oops. 

Jerry immediately stops. Nines would bet he could hear a dolphin whistle from 50 leagues away in the gaping silence. 

Kara’s eyebrows might as well be above her head with how shocked she looks and if Jerry’s jaw dropped any further, it would be on the floor. 

After what feels like an eternity of awkward silence, Jerry cheers in delight- or victory. 

“I knew it!” 

Nines’ face meets his palms and mutters, “I hope you find a hair in your food at every meal for the rest of your natural life.” 

Unfortunately, neither Kara or Jerry seem to hear, and are just spurred on by his reaction. 

Kara speaks softly. “And you hope to see this man at the party, Nines?”

Nines scoffs, raising his head out of his hands. “Of course not.”

Kara raises an eyebrow scrutinizingly. Another odd skill of hers- calling him on his bullshit. Again with the mom thing. 

Kara speaks blankly. “Nines, I’ve known you long enough to read you pretty well, and while you may appear inexpressive to the average passerby, I know. You’ve got someone on your mind.“

“No-,” Nines attempts, but is instantly shut down by Kara.

She fixes him with eyes of steel. “I. Always. Know.”

Nines feels goosebumps form on his arms, and Jerry comments, “She does, it’s kinda creepy. It’s that motherly sense or something.”

Kara frowns and her hand drifts to her wrist again, twisting the bracelet. 

Nines gulps, mentally throws any of his remaining dignity out the window, and gives in. Mostly to distract Kara from her grief. 

“Ok, well….I’ll probably never see him again anyways.”

That makes Kara perk up and Jerry’s pectoral fins flap rapidly as he grows more excited, like a frog in a sock. 

“We’ll see about that,” Kara shares a plotting glance with Jerry. 

Nines sees this and immediately blocks them. 

“No.” 

“Yes,” Jerry challenges. 

Nines grits his teeth. “Don’t-”

Kara interrupts him again, softly. “I agree with Jerry here, Nines. At least let us try.”

Nines pauses. If Kara is in on it….she always has good intentions, and he trusts her. 

“I can’t stop you, can I?,” he sighs in resignation.

“Nope.” Kara and Jerry answer in sync. 

Nines tosses his head back towards the ceiling. Dammit. He huffs. 

Kara gently prods further. “What do you know about them?”

He wasn’t getting out of this one.

“Erg, fine...I saw him dancing in the coral ring, he has brown hair, and his tail is tigershark.”

“That’s all you’ve got?,” Jerry laughs, who then gets an elbow in the stomach from Kara. He wheezes at the impact and hurries to correct himself. 

“That’s a great start! The mystery will be solved!”

“Ok, then. I’ll leave you to your evil scheming, “ he excuses as he swims back towards the kitchen entrance. 

“Aw, Nines, what? We’re only just getting started!,” Jerry groans. 

Nines scoffs. Like that’s reassuring. 

“Exactly. You know I do remember last time.”

Jerry, with a flare for the dramatic, whines and pouts. “Hey, not  _ all _ of the pies exploded. Only some. Give me some credit!”

Nines raises an eyebrow, giving an eye to Jerry. “We still haven’t been able to get the stains out of those tablecloths.”

“It’s added color!”

Nines rolls his eyes. “Riiiggght. Of course it did.”

The corner of his lips tug sideways. He certainly can’t stop them, and he isn’t going to try. At least the party now has the potential of being a little bit of fun. 

He grabs a random piece of fruit, an apple which has been cut in half, off of the counter on his way out. 

“Hey, that’s mine!,” Jerry huffs at Nines’ turned and receding back.

Nines waves a hand in his general direction. “Not anymore! Consider this pay-back for your nosiness!,” he calls back. “And, it’s only half an apple. Chill.”

“I’m going to find your man if it’s the last thing I do, Nines!,” Jerry shouts after him.

“Yeah, sure. Good luck!,” he calls over his shoulder.

Nines swims away smiling after hearing Jerry and Kara laugh and their excitement-filled chatter fades as he continues away from them.

He doesn’t really have a destination, but he knows for a fact that he’ll be drowning in chores in the upcoming week, so he simply enjoys the act of moving about the palace. 

Or tries too, once Connor latches onto his shoulder within five minutes of his wandering. 

“There’s that scowling face! I almost missed you,” Connor chuckles. 

Nines shrugs him off. “Hilarious. What do you need?”

Connor drops the faux-cheery act and falls into line besides Nines. “I think father wants to see you. I overheard him talking with a maid, asking where you were.”

Nines inwardly groans. Everytime he actually has a moment of rest, it seemed like his father wanted to talk. It was getting seriously hard to resist telling him to go fuck a badly lubed piece of driftwood, or any other of his creative insults. 

But they would be wasted on his father. Better to reserve his wisecracks for people who actually had a sense of humor. 

Nines sighs, addressing Connor. “Did he happen to say why he wanted to see me?”

Connor paused in thought. “Don’t know. Something about Prince Markus?”

Nines groaned out loud this time. “That prick?”

Connor had the gaul to look offended. “He isn’t a prick. So he’s more….outspoken than you, but he’s just determined to be a good king.”

Nines scoffs. His brother, defending Markus? Had he woken up in another dimension? 

“What, by going out and trying to get himself killed? That, or spending his time painting. Not exactly royal.“

Connor glares, serious. “Nines. You know those paintings are for fundraisers for studies in medicine. And he prefers communication. But he can’t just tell the kraken to go away. He trains very hard, very hard because he wants to be able to protect his kingdom. The kraken is very destructive to all. He’s doing the right thing by going on those search patrols-”

“How can he be a good king if he gets himself killed?,” Nines growls.

Connor gets pissed off, and his tail lashes.  “Stop it. You and I both know exactly how that beast can affect lives.” 

Nines’ mind is launched back to the view from the window as a child, his mother’s tail showing where she was clutched by the kraken. He sucks in a breath and his chest squeezes.

God, he misses her.

Connor gulps and his eyes grow soft again.  “Markus lost his mother too, brother. We lost our mothers in the same battle. The same one that took Cole and Alice. We all lost something. And kingdom Jeiiko was devastated. Markus is right to be training like he is. The kraken could come back.”

Nines clenches a fist. “Both kingdoms have defenses…,” he refutes weakly. 

Connor lowers his head and hushes his voice, looking at Nines with an odd tenderness, like a parent does when having to explain to a child that their pet died.

“The kraken could easily get through those if it wanted to,” Connor says grimly. 

“No-”

Connor shook his head, discouraging Nines. “You know it could.”

Nines looks down at the floor bitterly. “I…”

He sighs. “Yes. I know.”

Connor pokes a finger on his nose to get his attention. When Nines looks up, he sees his brother’s narrowed, steadfast eyes. “But if it does….we’ll be ready, right? We’re strong! We can chase it off.”

Nines shrugs a shoulder. “I guess. But we don’t have an official army general. Ever since mother was-” He cuts himself off. He doesn’t say it out loud very much. At all. “Uh-  _ lost- _ no one has stepped up after her.”

Connor’s cheeks turn a very faint blue glow. “Well, actually-”

Before he can elaborate, the very voice Nines was dreading hearing speaks from behind them. 

“Nines! We need to discuss a couple things for the engagement party.”

Nines sucks in every ounce of tolerance he has and turns to Connor. He looks at him apologetically. “Sorry. Can we finish this later?”

Connor huffs, appearing exasperated. “No, no, it’s nothing.”

“Really? But you were going to say something,” Nines prompts.

Connor waves a hand in Nines’ face. “Nope, nothing to worry about. Just a silly side comment. Really.” 

Connor hip-checks Nines in the direction of their father. “Now go get your party on!”

Nines looks at Connor with flat eyes. “Never say that again.

Connor curls his cyan seahorse tail. “I’ll say it as much as I like and you can do anything to stop me, sir.”  His playful grin fades a bit. “But really, you should go and talk to father.“

“Yes, I’m going. “ Nines rolls his eyes before speaking a soft tone. “Thank you for the conversation.” 

Connor puts his hands on his hips, his fingertips brushing where his tail fades into his torso. “Well, one of us has to be the good twin.”

Nines raises an eyebrow. “And you’re that?”

Connor nods convincingly. “Yep! Totally. …..But you’re welcome. I enjoy talking to you.”

Nines smiles appreciatively before waving goodbye and swimming- reluctantly- to King Kamski, who was waiting a few meters away, tail spines flicking impatiently. 

As soon as he approaches, King Kamski looks up, appearing bored. “Done talking?”

Nines growls under his breath. Patience…

“Yes. You wanted to speak with me?”

Kamski nods and turns away, clearly expecting Nines to follow. They drift in the direction of Kamski’s office. 

“We need to talk about arrangements for the engagement party.”

Nines had expected that. “Like what?”

Kamski waves a unconcerned hand. “Well, Prince Markus will be our guest and so we need to discuss how you will be interacting with that….situation. “

Nines grows exasperated quickly. “Who’s idea was it to invite the rival prince to my engagement party?“

Kamski doesn’t even turn his head as he answers. 

“Mine, and you need to accept that it’s happening.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t.” Nines says before muttering, “and, I don’t have a choice anyway..”

They enter the office, a large suite-like room with a large table in the middle. It’s scattered with small figurines in strategic places on a massive map that takes up the entire table. Nines finds it interesting how the figurines move themselves across the map as people and things move in the real world. The tracking spell Amanda cast on the figurines is certainly useful. 

Kamski leads him to an extravagant pair of chairs sitting besides a desk and Nines curls his tail under him to sit. Kamski takes the other.

“Now that I have your attention…,” Kamski pulls a long piece of paper from the desk and smooths it out. “This is what we need to discuss.”

Nines just about keels over. He’s going to grow old and die in this chair if he has to discuss everything that paper has written on it. 

Kamski begins. 

“We need to discuss food options-”

Nines cuts him off. “Already talked to the chefs.”

Kamski quirks an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised. “Oh. Alright. Next, topsuit.”

Nines sighs and drops his head forward, bored already. “I’ll go directly there after we are done here.”

Kamski nods approvingly in his peripheral vision. “Alright, and room arrangement.”

Nines looks up. “What?”

Kamski looks at him as if he’s stupid. “Room. Arrangement.”

Nines rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I heard you the first time. I’m not deaf. What does it mean?”

Kamski shakes his head to himself. “You are the very essence of maturity, I see,” he says dryly. 

“Room arrangement, Nines, is the decision that dictates which side of the room you will inhabit in comparison to Prince Markus. I assume that you do want a distinct side?”

“Yes, I do,” Nines replies.

Kamski nods once. “Good, that makes this easier. You see, Prince Markus has a special guest.”

Upon hearing this, Nines sits up straighter. Now, that’s interesting. 

“Who?,” he asks. 

Kamski doesn’t look up from where he is writing something on the paper. “Just a dancer that caught his fancy. King Carl told me to watch out for him.”

Nines sits forward a bit, cautiously curious. “Why?”

“So that you don’t start a fight with Markus, like usual,” Kamski replies.

Nines glares. “Father, he starts most of those-”

Kamski looks up from his writing, shooting daggers into Nines’ eyes when he meets them.

“Look, Nines. He picked this dancer as his special guest. I don’t want you to get in the way of his courting.“

Nines grumbles. “Oh, for-” 

Kamski cuts him off again. “Listen and let me describe him.”   
“Who?,” Nines aks.

Kamski ticks his head to the side, irritated. “The guest,” he grits out.

Nines sits back again. “Go on.”

Kamski gets up and starts pacing. 

“According to King carl, he’s a dancer. Scar across the nose. Brown hair.  Uh, reasonably built. “   
Nines’ forehead furrows. “Other than the scar and his occupation, that doesn’t give me a lot to work with. What’s his name?”

Kamski flicks a stray figurine laying on the floor with his tail and watches as it bounces away. 

“King Carl didn’t say.”

Nines waves a hand in the air. “Well, that’s wildly helpful.”

Kamski turns and glares at Nines. “Be grateful that he gave us any information at all.  And the information he did provide should be plenty if you use your brain. “

Nines glowers back. “Would it kill you not to be passive aggressive at all times?”

Kamski ignores him and turns his back again. Nines almost feels disappointed as the attention falls off him.

“Just watch out for him. He isn’t one of our guests, so all you have to do is ignore him.”

Nines frowns at this. What if he doesn’t want to ignore him? What if he accidentally bumps into him and they start talking and they actually get along?

He steals himself and dares to ask, “What if the guest wants to talk to me?”

Kamski looks unimpressed. “That isn’t very likely.”

Nines rolls his eyes. “Ok, but what if he does?”

Kamski maintains the unimpressed expression. “He won’t, but then you are polite and direct him back towards Prince Markus. “

What if he’s cute though? Nines thinks. What if I want to talk to him more? What if he doesn’t want to go back to Markus? Can I keep him then?

He’s snapped back to reality, out of his hopeful thoughts, by Kamski’s voice.    
“Got it, Nines?”

He hurries to cover up his mistake and he nods. “Right, yes, got it.”

Kamski narrows his eyes at Nines, probably because Nines failed to cover up anything, but before his father can say anything, a fist pounds on the office door. Both Nines and Kamski’s heads snap towards the disturbance. 

A voice, muffled by the door, yells, “Your majesty, there is a man that demands to see you!”

Kamski sighs and turns to Nines. 

“We will finish this later.”

Nines nods, already out of his chair, and feeling absolutely relieved. He follows the king to the door and slips out behind him. Kamski heads for the front door and Nines hesitates, wondering what was so important that his father has to handle it instead of a guard or counselor. 

As soon as Kamski opens the front door, a merchant man tumbles inside. Kamski jumps back in surprise. 

“Uh, can I help you?”

The merchant quickly straightens, brushing off his apron. “Your majesty, your grace, I-I-”

He struggles for words for a moment before wheezing out, “all of my pink abalone shells are gone!”

King Kamski merely raises an eyebrow. “Ok?”

The merchant rings his hands together. “You don’t understand. I’ve genetically modified colored abalone shells for years. The others are fine. White is fine, blue perfectly intact, green is still there, black is just ducky, but- but- my pink ones are all gone! Every single one!”

Kamski’s eyebrows raise. “Who would bother breaking in just to get one color?”

The merchant’s eyes grew frantic. “But no one broke in! Everything was perfectly intact. Only on small window was open, and it’s one of those windows that is only openable from the inside. I’ve only ever seen my pet octopus be able to open it from the outside.”

King Kamski pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ok, well…”

Nines had quite enough of that. Was that the kind of thing he would have to deal with when he was older? Ugh.. 

He leaves his unfortunate father to deal with the panicking merchant and heads towards the tailors. 

Great Poseidon, he almost feels bad for his father. The whole pink shell thing, that’s going to be boring. The tailor’s sounds better. Standing perfectly still, occasionally being poked with a sewing pin, and having to listen to the old tailor lady blather on about something regarding her grandchildren will certainly be a better time than the “pink shell puzzle”. She’s very sweet, don’t get him wrong, but she certainly can talk. 

His mind floats as he moves down a hallway. He doesn’t have any more time to run. He’s been dreading his engagement day ever since he first learned about it. Why become close to someone when you know you’ll lose them someday? It only sounds like pain. 

So...why does he still want to? Want to have someone to smile with and joke with. Sure, he had Connor and Hank, but….what if he ever wanted a hug? 

He blinks. When did he become sappy and needy? 

His heart sinks as he rounds a corner, the tailor’s door before him. His fins brush the floor and remembers the thrill of getting the letter from the stranger earlier. How he loved the interaction more than he cares to admit to himself. He cringes when he admits to himself how, sometimes, when he rests his head in his hand, he subconsciously leans into his own hand. Was that what touch starved meant?

He blinks hard. He’s a prince! He has people that care for him. Maids and palace help that come whenever he asks. He’s surrounded with people. 

So his feelings don’t make sense, right? He feels like he’s in a bubble because…because….

“Nines, dear!” 

He’s jolted out of his thoughts by a cheery, old voice and a kind hand on his arm. The tailor. Right. 

“You alright, dear? Look like you’ve had a scare,” she pats his arm. He’s hyper aware of the contact. 

“Uh. Yes. Just thinking.”

The tailor smiles, her wrinkled cheeks rosy. “Oh good. Come on then! I already have an idea for the perfect top suit. You’ll love it, dear!”

Nines isn’t so sure about that, but it’s a distraction from his weird thoughts. He shakes himself and pushes the residual feelings away. 

The tailor’s room is full of warm colors and smells that remind Nines of freshly baked cookies. He takes in like one would take a hug from their grandma. Comfort wraps him up like a blanket. He is  _ very _ glad to be here, especially after that abrupt mental torrent. 

It’s been a weird day.

The tailor shuffles through a rack of topsuits before happily saying, “Aha!”, and pulling out a suit from the row. Her back is turned from Nines, so he can’t see what she’s holding. He only sees her orange and white striped tail swish fondly as she brushes off the suit. 

“Here we are,” she hums. “I guess I got excited! I made this one already. Now, dear, turn around so you can try it on. I can make any changes I need to here.”

“I don’t get to see it first?,” Nines asks, confused. 

He turns around anyway and spreads his arms so the tailor can put it on him. 

He feels the soft kelp cloth slide over his arms, coming to a perfect rest against his shoulders. The tailor pats his back. “Turn around and I’ll button the front.”

He turns obediently and when he tries to glance down to a peek at what it looks like, he gets a gentle chuck on the chin. 

“Not yet!” 

He waits patiently, and feels nimble fingers fidget with the front of the coat. He still doesn’t know what the damn thing looks like….

The tailor holds him out at an arm’s length, examining her work, before tugging him towards a mirror on the wall. 

“What do you think?,” she chirps. 

Nines’ reflection shows a light blue top suit that hugs his sides just delicately enough to make it look almost like the cloth is holding its breath. 

He turns and sees two white with a touch of silvery gray ties on the back of the suit. It’s like the sky above has reached down, wrapped him in it’s hand, and given him cloud like wings to fly with. 

“Holy mother of Poseidon,” he breathes. 

He sees the tailor behind him grin in the mirror reflection. “I’m glad you like it! I met with the Jeiiko tailor the other day for tea and talk. That boy has a lot of good ideas!”

Nines turns and catches her eye. “You got this idea from the Jeiiko tailor?”

She waves a hand. “Not completely. The light blue fabric caught my eye and he told me that the sky inspired it. I immediately thought of the flying fish and sea birds we see!” 

She reaches up and pats Nines’ cheek affectionately. “And I just knew that I had to make something inspired by them- for a young prince that will certainly fly high!”

Nines’ chest swells with warmth. After such a bumpy day, her fondness meant the world.    
He turns and hugs her tight. “Thank you, Anne.” 

She makes a noise of surprise, but returns the hug double as tight. “Of course dear. You’re a good boy- and you needed a suit to show that. It especially brings out those eyes of yours.”

She kisses both his cheeks. “Now, I’m sure there’s other things for you to do to get ready for the big day, but just remember-,” she pats his cheeks with care. “-that if you ever need a place to come and be calm, you’ve got my studio, alright? You’ve got this old lady rooting for you!”

He smiles. She always turns his worries into mush. It’s a grandma thing, he thinks. 

“Thank you so much,” he says, absolutely genuine.

He carefully removes the suit and she takes it in her arms. 

She nods, satisfied. “Alright, mister. Get out there and be good!”

He waves her a goodbye as he exits the room and as soon as the door closes, he takes a huge breath and lets it out. His hand finds the pendant around his neck, warm against his throat. It’s resoundingly comforting and he knows already that he’s going to be grateful for it in the coming week. He’ll especially need it on the coming party and the hours of socializing. 

He runs his thumb over the stone again. Maybe this whole thing won’t be as bad as he thinks. 

He takes another breath. 

Yes, he’ll be ok.

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Nines and Gavin have matching suits? What a coincidence! 
> 
>  
> 
> (This chapter is deticated to my lovely grandma, who is just as wonderful as that tailor and also named Anne. Yes, she really does talk about her grandchildren that much, and she is that sweet. ♡)


	6. Gavin

Gavin carefully drills a small hole in the second side of the stone, careful not to drill into the kitchen table where he was working.

He had read in a book that it was called ‘labradorite’, and was a common necklace material. Nothing about the glow though…

He gently blows the dust and shavings away from the just drilled hole and holds it up to admire it. He nods contently to himself.

Perfect. 

He threads a silver ribbon through each hole, before adding a clasp. He tests it, feeling for the clasp and clipping it to the small loop on the opposite side of the necklace.

Hm. It turned out a little tighter than he thought, becoming a semi-loose choker instead of a necklace. He stretches and flexes his neck and the choker shifts and moves along with him, hugging his muscles as they work.

Gavin swallows. The snugness of the necklace was oddly comforting, the pendant warm on his neck. After the shock it gave him, one would expect him to be more judicious about putting it on one of the most vulnerable places on his body.

But no, his dumb ass was like a crow. The stone was pretty and shiny and he wanted it. So there.

Just as he reaches up to work the clasp off, there’s a knock at the door. Always the most inconvenient times...

“It’s open!,” he calls towards it while struggling with the clasp. 

The door opens with a bang, bouncing off the wall.

“What’s up, bitc- what are you doing,” Tina cuts off her dramatic entrance, replacing it with a flat, stunned question. 

Gavin freezes. “Uh… new costume piece?”

Tina didn’t buy it for a second. Shutting the door behind her with a swipe of her tail vividly colored tail, she joins Gavin at his kitchen table. She hovers behind him and swats his hands away. He was supposed to keep it on?

“That is such bullshit. I’ve only ever seen you wear a keychain around your neck. This is so fancy it outshines you.”

Gavin glares at her from the corner of his eye. “Are you gonna help me get it off or not!?”

Tina flicks the back of his head. “Nope! And neither are you.”

Gavin opens his mouth to complain and is cut off by Tina. 

“You need to get used to wearing it. You’ll be wearing it for a number of hours at the party,” she drawls. 

He blinks in in surprise. She guessed he was wearing it to the party without even batting an eyelash. Was he that obvious?   
“Yes, you are that obvious,” she says, as if she had read his mind. 

He whips around. “Wha-”

She stares back at him blankly. “Your face is as easy to read as a book for babies with the gigantic fonts and simple words.” 

In a high pitched kid voice, she continues, “Here is Gavin. Gavin has a necklace. Gavin will wear the necklace to a party. Gavin will have fun.”

The offended sound Gavin makes in response defied words, and if ever asked about it, he’d lie and say it was anything but the bratty little harrumph it really was.

Tina rolls her eyes apathetically, and saunters towards North’s side of the cabin, searching for her.

“Your house is so weird, Gav.”

Gavin, still hovering by the table, scoffs. “I didn’t design it. It’s the same design of all the other palace guard houses.”

Tina makes a curious noise and he continues into an explanation. 

“It was my dad’s. I just inherited it. He was a palace border guard, so he got this house for easy access to the border in case of emergencies. Like every other border guard.”

Tina looks up at the ceiling, where the living space joins North and Gavin’s sides of the cabin into a common space. “Why is there two separate living spaces then? It’s like two houses were smushed together.”

Gavin shrugged. “For another guard? Dunno. I never saw signs of anyone else living here when I visited as a kid. When North first rescued me, we hid-out at her place for a while, until we could safely get here. Both of us didn’t fit in that skimpy little hut of hers though. We were both plenty happy to have our own space when we moved in here.”

“Huh. Nice,” Tina notes, clearly not over interested. 

Gavin sighs. “So are you here just to make fun of my house, or…”

Tina smacks her hand against a wall and spins around. “Actually, no! Firstly, I wanted to spend some time with you- shocking, I know-, and second, talk about the party. I mean…” she cleared her throat, talking quieter. “You are Prince Markus’s special guest. That isn’t something to sneeze at.”

Gavin runs his fingers through his already mussed hair. “You don’t have to tell me. Mother of Poseidon, I thought I had dreamed that.”

Tina grins. “Ha! I know, you looked like you were about to faint.”

Gavin pretends not to hear her. “Why do you want to talk about the party? It’s not like it involves you.”

Tina slaps a hand to her forehead with a theatrical swoon. “Oh, you dare insult me!” 

She quickly drops the act and talks normally. “But really, it does. The dance group and company has been invited to be entertainment so I will be there, as will the others.” 

She grins mischievously. “I’m mostly going to see the drama between the two princes though.”

Gavin tilts his head, confused. “Drama?”

Is this another one of her outlandish stories or was he missing something? 

Tina waves a hand, astounded. “Gavin, do you live in an oyster shell? Yes, drama. The princes are classic rivals.”

Gavin gives her a hollow look. She is totally pulling a story out her ass. “Really.”

Tina shrugs. “Well. That’s how some see it. Prince Nines is cold and analytical. Prince Markus is passionate and social. They’re complete opposites!”

Gavin fights back the impulse to correct Tina about Nines and bring up that he’d seen him singing. 

Instead, he goes for a dismissing, “So what?”

Tina gives him a look as if he’d just asked if the sky was really blue.

“They don’t get along at all. That’s what.”

Gavin sees what she’s getting at, but doesn’t completely buy it. “They’ve hardly interacted,” he refutes.

Tina tsks at him, waving a correcting finger from where she leans against the wall.    
“You’ve seen the joint kingdom addresses. They’re always on opposite sides of the podiums or platforms or whatever. And when one makes a suggestion, the other makes a conflicting suggestion. Ying versus yang. Black versus white. Catfish versus dogf-”

Gavin nods, raising his hands to admit defeat. “Yeah, I get it, thank you.”

“Great. So, basically, this engagement party should be interesting, to say the least,” Tina says smugly.

Gavin sinks into a chair, draping his dappled tail on the table. 

“Your definition of entertainment is fucked up, Ti.”

Tina joins him at the table, shoving his tale off the table and onto the floor, ignoring his annoyed whine. “Live and let live, dude. I’m not looking for the spilling of blue, alright. I don’t want to see it get bloody. Just, you know, some arguing or something.”

Gavin flops his tail into Tina’s lap to spite her. She glares at it and he wiggles it to challenge her. She drops her shoulders and ignores it. 

Gavin lets his head fall backwards, looking up at the ceiling. “Arguing is stressful though. If you’re gonna fight, you fight with your fists.”

Tina scoffs. “Nice communication skill you got there, Gav.” She shifts a little, getting comfortable. “Should have expected that from a guy who was mostly raised by someone like North. She’s a, uh, ‘family guard’ or something, right?”

“Or something,” he replies. Technically, it’s true. Just, she assassinates the threats instead of just standing guard against them. Offense versus defense. 

But he’s not going to tell Tina that.

The door opens behind them and North enters, hauling a duffle bag in after her with difficulty. 

“Uh…,” Gavin starts. Usually she has no trouble getting her bag inside. But she’s only using one hand. 

“Hey Gavin, little help?,” she grunts, tugging fruitlessly on the bag, which has now stuck it self on something outside the door.

He quickly swings his tail off of Tina’s lap and darts towards North only to stop when he sees what’s occupying her other hand and rendering her handicapped. 

“Lyki?,” he says, bewildered (and stupidly excited at the prospect of getting a note).

The little catfish lays her eyes on him and thrashes out of North’s hold, flinging herself into Gavin’s arms. Her whiskers brush his chin happily and his chest squeezes unexpectedly. Fuck, she’s adorable. And cuddly. 

North breaths out, relieved, and with one swift tug from her, the duffle is untangled and inside. She drags it towards her side of the cabin. 

“Found that little kitty outside your door.”

Gavin quirks an eyebrow at her turned back. “Kitty? Is that a new insult?”

North turns around and rolls her eyes. “No, dipshit. I heard it from some humans. They were talking about cats, so I listened, then they said kitty. They mean the same thing, I think.”

So she was on patrol. Gavin immediately grows apprehensive and he hugs Lyki tighter from where she’s nestled in his arms.

“Humans? Where?”

North hears his nerves showing through and softens her voice. For as much as a hardass as she is, she can actually be a pretty good big sister. 

“Just a little fishing boat,” she says soothingly. “They had this adorable little….creature that kept dipping its fin into the water. But its fins were rounded. Nothing like I’ve ever seen. It was fluffy like long algae and had pointy things on its head, but they swiveled around. When the humans pet it, it made….vibrations? Like a hum. They kept calling it ‘kitty’ and ‘sea-cat.’”

Gavin snorts in amusement. “Weird. A cat with algae on it? They move way too much for it to grow on it….”

Lyki shifts and something pokes Gavin’s arm. He looks down and sees a rolled up piece of paper tucked under Lyki’s collar, the end of the paper digging into his arm where Lyki rests her tail. 

The person actually responded...hopefully it wasn’t to tell him to fuck off or go trip over a knife. 

He tugs it out from under the collar and just as he has unfolded it and starts reading the very first line, Tina rips it out his hands. 

“Gavin got a letter!,” she crows, waving it. She wiggles her eyebrows at him. “Is it from a secret love?” She gasps dramatically. “Are you having an affair?!”

Gavin lunges for the note, but Tina swiftly moves out the way and, much to Gavin’s dismay, starts reading out loud.

 

_ Hello, kind stranger. _

_ Thank you for taking care of Lyki. She is mischievous, so I hope she didn’t give you much trouble. If and when you receive this, I would appreciate very much if you would write me back with some information about yourself. I would like to know what has drawn my catfish to loyally to you. No pressure though. _

_ Hope to hear from you, _

_ Echo _

  
  


“Echo?,” Tina mutters. 

Gavin grumbles and pulls the note from her hands. “Thank you for that wonderful performance of my private life,” he huffs. 

Tina actually has the conscience to look slightly guilty. Gavin scans the note, making sure that was she said out loud was actually what was written. He sees Lyki move towards him out of the corner of his eye from where he had placed her on the ground shortly before he lunged at Tina. Lyki passes in front of Tina’s face and Gavin hears her inhale, surely to further tease him.    
“Wow, Gavin, how brave,” she wheedles. 

He turns his head towards her. What is she talking about?

She chuckles. “That catfish has a Cylia kingom stamp on the back of it’s tag. Consorting with the enemy?”

Gavin rolls his eyes up towards the ceiling. “They’re not the enemy.”

Tina grins like the cheshire cat. “One might think you’re trying to get closer to the wrong prince, Gav.”

He hides his blush by shooting a scowl towards her. “You’re such an asshole.”

She shrugs pompously, very much noticing his blue cheeks. “Pot, meet kettle.”

Gavin huffs and evades her flailing hand as she tries to get his attention back, swimming towards his room for his bag. His notebook is inside, and if his brain stops rushing, he can write a note back to the Cylia stranger. 

With the upcoming engagement party snapping threateningly at his heels, these notes will be a nice escape. And hey, maybe he’ll make a friend. 

He hastily scribbles something on a piece of paper ripped from his notebook, and, upon finding Lyki already at his side, tucks it under her collar. He rubs her head and she flits out his bedroom door. He takes a breath and taps the pendant, which has grown warm between his clavicles. It’s projecting warmth straight to his heart, like drinking a hot cup of tea, which is the epitome of comfort.   
It’ll help him with the stress of the coming week and planning on how he’s gonna handle Markus.                                                                                                                           

His forehead thunks against the wall. 

It’s going to be a long week. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keep the choker, Gav! it suits you ;)  
> As you can tell, I may or may not be quite fond of choker necklaces. I have no shame.
> 
>  
> 
> (short chapter! the next one is a weird one, so keep an eye out for that one)


	7. Penpals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bold is Gavin  
> Italics is nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again,  
> -Bold is Gavin  
> -Italics is Nines  
> happy reading yall

After Nines’ reply to Gavin’s first note, they wrote back and forth ceaselessly. The letter that Gavin wrote back acts like a spark in gasoline. The chaotic week of preparation for the engagement party fades behind them and they just enjoy the stranger’s intriguing letters.

After Nines reply....

  


**Hey Echo,**

**First, cool name! Or nickname. About Lyki, she’s no trouble. She’s a real sweetheart. Very cuddly. Is that normal for her?**

**Anyway, about me. There isn’t much to tell. Nothing that’s coming to my mind. But I’d be happy to answer questions if you ask them.**

**As for Lyki, I have no idea why she likes a grump like me. But I’m happy to have her.**

**-Riverreed**

  


_Riverreed,_

_Thanks. It’s just a nickname, but I like it too. I’m glad to hear about Lyki. Usually she knocks over ever mug she finds. And she’s affectionate, but I wouldn’t label her as cuddly. Guess you’re special. And you don’t come across as grumpy. A unique sense of humor, sure, but not grumpy._

_Ok, a couple questions. Completely random._

_1.Do you have any pets?_

  1. _Have you ever been in a fight?_



_3.What is guaranteed to always annoy you?_

_-Echo_

  
  


**Echo,**

**I guess flattery does get you everywhere. Never been called special before. Sorry, was that tmi? Whatever, I’ve written it now. Ok for the questions...**

**No, I don’t have any pets, not at home at least. I kind of have a stray shark that comes around every so often, but I’m not sure that counts.**

**Fights? I’m fluent in fights. Depends on what you mean by fight though. I was there when the kraken attacked Jeiiko. And I’ve been in plenty of fist fights, all for stupid reasons. Well, accept one. The asshole insulted my sister.**

**And people smacking their food annoys me like nothing else in the sea. Nothing.**

**Alright Echo, I get to ask you questions too.**

**1.With one word, describe your week.**

**2.Why did you get Lyki?**

  1. **What stereotype do you totally live up to?**



**-Riverreed**

  


_Riverreed,_

_You live in Jeiiko? Or did you just happen to be there and got caught in the battle? Either way, that sounds like it sucks. That’s an understatement but my vocabulary just got up and left so it’ll have to do. And I totally get the smacking food thing. I actually have to plug my ears if someone is doing it around me to keep from just getting up and slapping them. Ha, smacking them for smacking. Ok, my week in a word- calamity. For my schedule and emotional health. Speaking of emotional health, Lyki is really helpful for that. She’s very attuned (ok some good vocab returning), seems to know whenever my brain is going too fast and will do something sweet, or cute, or funny that gets me to refocus._

_I found Lyki as a baby, abandoned in a clump of kelp, and raised her myself. She was even more of a troublemaker when she was little._

_As for stereotype, I’m not sure. Mysterious?_

_-Echo_

  
  


**Mysterious? What, like the main character of a book mysterious, showing a personality on the outside and then keeping secrets that actually define you?**

**And yeah, the battle did really suck ass. I was pretty young then. All I remember was the boulder that took my mother from me.**

**Anyway, that was years ago. But really. Mysterious??**

**-Riverreed**

  
  


_I have no words. You completely saw through me, I’ve never heard myself better described. And I get it. That battle took my mother as well. Maybe a little more literally. The kraken itself picked her up and carried her away._

_Ok, this has gotten dark. But your humor somehow makes that ok._

_-Echo_

  
  


**Thanks? I think? Was that a compliment?**

**If it was, thanks. However, most of my humor is about as funny as the noise that a piece of seaweed makes when it flung on a rock.. Hey, at least I have a common aesthetic in my life.**

**-R**

 

_The seaweed must be singing opera or something then, because every time I read one of your letters, I have to hide my smile and laughter behind my hand. People know me for being cold, I can’t have my reputation stripped from me for laughing! My brother would probably call the doctor or something._

_-E_

  


**We can’t have that.  But also, do you know what your writing does to me?? Great Poseidon, I’m a mess. I’m supposed to be a grumpy asshole, not a smiling sap. I used to have the emotional capacity of a teaspoon- or a zombie- before. Also, what’s your brother like? Sounds like he’s pretty nice. Or worried.**

  
  


_Yeah, my brother is my polar opposite. He’s so sweet he’ll give you cavities and his facial expressions are hilarious, and far more pronounced than mine. Proof he feels emotions and is perfectly happy to feel them. And I’m not sure zombies actually feel emotions._

  


**Exactly! That’s why I said I had the emotional capacity of one. Or, at least, showed it about as much as one might. And your brother sounds pretty great. Must be nice having someone around that sweet.**

  


_It can be very nice. But it can also be very difficult for someone so different to him. Also, I’m 99% sure that you are better looking than a gross, rotting zombie._

  


**Why, that was almost a compliment. Are you calling me cute?**

**And, hey don’t judge a book by it’s writing.**

  


_That’s not how you use that phrase._

  


**Oh, cry me a table.**

  


_And again. Do I need to give you a english lesson?_

  


**What do think being a zombie must be like?**

  


_Smooth topic jump._

_And I don’t think you’d even realize that you were a zombie._

  


**_But what if you did?_ **

  


_I think it would be pretty gross. I certainly don’t want to feel my flesh rotting off my bones._

  


**Disgusting. And probably uncomfortable, if your nerves weren’t shot to shit. And what about realizing you want to eat other mers?**

  


_Not even them, just the grey mush in their heads. Which is where I get confused, because zombies aren’t exactly strong. How are they going to get through skull, which can withstand 250 to 350 pounds of pressure before even fracturing._

  


**Wow, getting all sciency on me!**

**Hmm, zombie weapons for cranial destruction...No idea. Smash with a rock?**

**But what if you could control yourself though? Like, sit down and just feel sad because you have become this disease ridden monster. Dad zombie.**

 

_Dad zombie?_

 

**Oh, hush, I wrote that at close to midnight. My hand slipped. I meant sad zombie.**

 

_Dad zombie. Making sure your zombie friends are eating properly. Not getting axed in the head._

 

**Sounds like the Mom friend zombie. Comforting the new zombies who are having an existential crisis about the whole ‘I’m a monster’ thing.**

 

_We could start a support group_

 

**Yeah. “Live again! A new life for the undead. Free brain at weekly meetups!”**

 

_With humanely harvested organ donor brains._

 

**Good organic choice.**

 

_I feel like it would be either a bunch of teens being mutually supportive and loving of each other or a group of soccer moms. But I suppose it depends on who becomes a zombie, and if they keep their conscience after they’ve been turned._

 

**But it’s like society- if zombies had mer consciousness then who becomes friends? If it depends on who is turned then there would be a limit to zombie friends, unless because of mer conscious, then mer and zombies could be friends? Oh but the smell.**

**Am I overthinking this?**

 

_Just slightly._

_FUCK. My brother just teased me for smiling when I was reading that. I mean, it’s hilarious and ridiculous and I felt like smiling. So I did. And he asked me why I was smiling and I told him. I swear I must have been the deepest blue I was blushing so much._

_But I don’t know. I kinda like smiling and letting him know who I’m smiling for._

 

**Echo. You gotta give me some warning. I swear I might just melt if I blush any more. Great poseidon. I just felt that right in my heart. I have a reputation to uphold and my sister seriously thinks I might be sick.**

 

_You aren’t sick, right? If so, you should get some rest and take care of yourself._

 

**No, I’m fine. But thank you for the concern.**

 

_Well, I would miss you if you died. Plus, you should get rest anyway. Not that you need beautyrest, but its still good for you. If I receive any more late letters, I will specially train Lyki to attack you until you take care of yourself._

 

**That almost sounds like worry. Are you sure you and your brother are ‘polar opposites’?**

 

_Mostly._

 

**Wait.**

**In your last letter, was that you calling me attractive?**

 

_Perhaps._

 

**Mr. Cylia palace is calling me, a ragtag Jeiiko guy, attractive. Wow.**

**Actually, that is a question. I saw Lyki going within the palace the first time I came across her. I escorted her home and she went in there. So are you a palace worker or something?**

 

_Or something._

 

**You ok? Your answers have been really short lately.**

 

_Yeah, sorry. I’m just tired. It’s crazy busy over here and while that’s tiring in itself, I’m completely emotionally drained as well. It’s exhausting to even lift a single fin and all the noise and action feels so...overwhelming. The entire palace is getting ready for the engagement party, which is in just one day. And since it’s a double engagement party….._

_Sorry, I totally just vented all over the page._

 

**Nah, it’s fine. Really, seriously, because I’m super stressed about the same thing. I’m going as well as a request from someone and, as you can tell, I’m not exactly calm about it.**

**But for you, can I do anything to help?**

 

_Just writing these letters, talking to you, is really helpful. No one here at the palace is very fun to talk to. Professionalism, you know? It’s nice to talk to someone who speaks to me like a regular mer._

_Thank you, really._

 

**I’m glad I can help. And same here. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone that treats me like an actual person.**

 

_What do you do? Is it your job that people mistreat you at or..?_

 

**You could say that. I’m not mistreated, just not treated at all (did that make sense). I’m part of the entertainment industry, so. Y’know. Pretty outfits, closed mouth, on the stage, being a visual effect. I mean, I like my job, but the “be seen, but don’t have an actual personality except what’s been scripted” part is kinda tough, I guess.**

 

_I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that’s like, but it doesn’t sound fun. Well, the people part doesn’t. Ok, it’s late. And we both know what tomorrow is. I’ll write this last note tonight and then we should both go to sleep. I hope we can still talk after the engagement party._

_Sleep well, Riverreed._

 

**Yeah, me too. I really like talking with you. It’s different than talking to anyone else, I don’t know why.**

**Maybe I’m being tired and stupid and I shouldn’t write this, but. Your writing is like an echo of you (haha name puns). So I know that you are just eloquent and lovely and gorgeous as it is. Am I being sappy? Yep.**

**Ok, before I say anything else embarrassing, goodnight, Echo.**

**Sleep well.**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no I don't know how they are writing on paper under the water either lets not think about it too hard


	8. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY IVE BEEN GONE SO LONG

Nines feels inquisitive whiskers on his cheek and grumbles. He doesn’t want to wake up, he knows what the day is. The whiskered assailant nuzzles his cheek.

“Lyki, noooo,” he drags out a tired whine. 

The last week has been toeing the line to torture. The only thing that has been a bit of a reprieve are the notes from Riverreed. For some reason, his pendant always grows warm shortly after Lyki leaves with a note. Like a physical manifestation of happiness. 

Shoving his thoughts aside, he rolls over and reluctantly opens his eyes. 

Today’s the day. His engagement party. The end of the line. 

He sighs a heavy breath, which does close to nothing to alleviate the stress and fear trembling through him. He feels like this day is slowly crushing him, the anticipation of the events to come is like watching a massive pack of mad great whites thundering over a hill in the hundreds. He has no place to run, nowhere to hide from the fate that his father insists upon for him. 

He curls into a ball, feeling his tail spines prod against the bed cover from where they have unfolded from his tail. He pretends that time is frozen and that he can stay here, in bed and away from the world, forever. 

The seconds are his eternity until….

A fist bangs on his door, reality hammering. 

He feels Lyki stir from where she had nestled into his side and her weight disappears from the bed to greet whoever was on the other side of the door.

Nines hears the door click, unlocked. He hears the hushed swish of a tail, and then the bed dips as someone sits down. 

The only people who have the key to his room are his brother and Hank, and upon hearing his brother’s soft voice, he relaxes a little. 

“Nines, hey. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…”

Connor pauses and Nines stays frozen under the covers when he feels his brother’s hand on his shoulder.

“You have to get up,” Connor whispers, like he’s admitting a secret. 

Nines growls, voice hoarse and grizzled from sleep. He feels Connor’s hand squeeze on his shoulder. 

“I get it, it sucks, and you have to. Father told me that he would come and get you himself.”

Nines growls again, louder. Connor shakes his shoulder. 

“Come oooonnn. Get up.”

Nines almost growls again, but is interrupted by the door creaking open further. He feels Connor jolt with how fast he looks up and Nines peaks his head out from under the covers.

King Kamski, his father, stands in the doorway in a long coat that falls around him like a silk blanket.

He looks….different. Nines narrows his eyes. Is it just him, or are his father’s eyes a little red? 

Had he been...crying?

Before Nines can notice how his father’s hands are clenched together, one hand holding the other, Kamski moves into the room and closes the door until just a sliver is left open.

Nines waits with clenched teeth for his father to speak, no doubt that they words will be cold and distant.

So when Kamski speaks, Nines is utterly caught off guard. 

“It is time to face the day, son. Put your fears aside.” 

Nines blinks repeatedly in shock and he feels Connor recoil ever so slightly in surprise. 

Is he still asleep and dreaming? That didn’t sound like the father he knows. 

Kamski clears his throat, his head slightly bowed. He looks...hesitant. 

“I’ve arranged for a private breakfast in the garden for a quiet start to the day,” Kamski quietly says. “Join me there, will you?”

Nines swallows. What the hell is going on?

Connor answers for them both. “Uh, yeah. We’ll see you there. Soon.”

Kamski nods, shoulders shifting, like he’s shaken something off them. “Alright, then. I’ll see you.”

Just as his father turns to exit, Nines feels a flash of daring (or is it madness) and tries his luck. 

“Did you feel fear on your day, father?”

Kamski freezes in the doorway at Nines question. He falters and half-turns back.

“I did. Yes,” Kamski answers haltingly. 

Nines’ eyebrows raise and he sits up.

His father, admitting fear? Has the ocean turned upside down? 

Kamski continues. “But that was the day I met Chloe, your mother. I realized I had nothing to fear,” he smiles and looks Nines in the eyes. “I hope you have the same luck, today.”

Under the covers, Nines’ hands grip the sheets, bewildered and confused. What had changed so much that his father was acting like this? 

Seeing Nines’ shocked face, Kamski turns away again and waves a departing hand. “I’ll see you for breakfast in the garden.”

Nines nods absently at his father’s back as he leaves the room. 

Connor coughs beside him. “What just happened?”

Nines turns to see Connor’s face, just as appalled as his own. 

“I have no idea.”

“Huh,” Connor sweeps a hand through his hair and shook his head. “Well, anyway, we should go get breakfast. In the garden…”

Right, the garden. The one that their mother had started hand-planting. Their father almost never went there, probably out of grief for their mother. So the fact that he had arranged to have breakfast, with his two sons, in the garden that he had actively avoided until now….

Nines didn’t know what to think. 

Lyki returned to his side from where she lingered at the door after watching Kamski leave. She budges Nines’ hand, trying to get him to pet her. He scoffs, but runs a hand down her back nevertheless. Connor fidgets next to him and clears his throat.

“I...guess I’ll go meet father. In the garden,” he says, sounding vaguely stunned. 

Nines nodded absentmindedly. “Right….yeah.”

After such a measly response, Connor waves a hand in front of his face. “And I’ll see you there soon, right?”

Nines blinks. He had gotten too much into his head. He shakes himself and turns to look at Connor to give a better answer. 

“Yeah, I’ll be down soon. Just, need to do something.”

Connor looks at him funny and is visibly unsatisfied with his answer, but didn’t push. 

“Ok. Just do it quick…,” Connor leaned away from him, eyes narrowed. Yeah, still suspicious. 

Connor gets off the bed and swims towards the door nonchalantly before turning his head to look at Nines one last time. 

“Snap out of the weird spaced-out thing you’ve got going, Nines. You’ll need all three of your brain-cells today,” he teases, but trepidation is peeking out from behind the words.

Nines waves him off. “Yeah, yeah. You forget than I’m actually older than you, and can handle myself.”

Connor scoffs. “You’re older by nine days, and only because of that weird health phenomenon that mom had.”

Nines rolls his eyes. “It’s not about her health. It’s called superfetation.”

“Superfeet-what?,” Connor asked, completely butchering the pronunciation of the scientific word. 

Nines waves a dismissing hand. “Never mind, whatever. I’ll see you at breakfast.” 

Connor shrugs and leaves unceremoniously, his tail curled behind him.

Nines flops backwards onto one of his pillows. His fear started boiling under his skin again, temporary distractions gone. 

His engagement party….is today…

He might just have a heart attack. At least that would save him from the upcoming day.

He’s forced out of his thoughts by Lyki blowing bubbles at him and then bumps at the windowpane insistently. Nines smiles. He does have one person who he can talk to and who won’t tell him off for it. 

He scoots out of bed and stretches, feeling his tail muscles strain and relax. Now that he’s slightly more awake, he goes over to the desk in the corner of his room and digs out the notebook in which he’s been writing all his letters to Riverreed. 

He writes a friendly good morning and describes just how weird the start of the day has been for him before rolling it up and tucking it under Lyki’s collar. He opens the window for her and she darts away.

Nines smiles just thinking about Riverreed. The conversations that they have are so relaxed, nothing like Nines has ever experienced before. He hopes that he gets a reply before the party……

Nines’ hand drifts to the pendant. Its grown warm, like it’s just woken up. A soft and fond feeling blooms in Nines chest for reasons he can’t explain. He often gets it in the morning, as if he is seeing a beloved wake up. Not like he knows what that feels like. 

But he’d like to….

He shakes himself. Again with those thoughts! Ugh. 

He doesn't need mental clutter like that right now. What he  _ does  _ need is breakfast.

He runs a thumb over the pendant once more before slipping on an abalone bracelet and combing his hair, which is thankfully not the seaweed snarl that it usually is.

He checks that he looks presentable in the mirror and watches as the pendant pulses a warm orange. A faint feeling of happiness veins from it, filling his upper chest with lightheartedness, like delicate bubbles. He smiles down at it. He didn't know how or why it was making him feel emotions that weren't his own, but he appreciated it.

He double checks that the window is open for Lyki when she comes back, and turns towards the partially open door. 

He mentally braces himself for what lies outside it and leaves the shelter of his room. 

To his considerable surprise, the halls are empty for the first time that week. No maids rushing to clean every corner of the palace, no loud clattering of dishes being transported to the grand dining hall, no cries for help from butlers that picked up furniture that turned out to be too heavy for one person, no stray peacock gobies that no one could explain how they got out of their habitat, nothing. 

They must all be setting up the room that the party is going to be in...

It was so quiet that Nines could hear his tail swish and his gills filter water.

Apprehension fills Nines. It was the day of his engagement party, he had expected the palace to be unbearably busy. 

He cautiously goes down stairs, and finds the door to the garden cracked open, warmer water flowing inside the palace. 

As soon as he steps out, he blinks at the bright sunlight. It bounces across everything around him, illuminating the coral to the point of near neon colors.

Kelp, seaweed, stargrass, waterfern, and algae turn bright, vibrant greens of every shade. Corals glow sunflower yellow or deep blood red. Dull sea sponges that Nines had never noticed before glow sapphire and electric blue. 

Nines can feel his eyes grow wide, overwhelmed by just how  _ much _ there is to look at. 

He follows a radiant path of tall feather coral before the path opens into a encircled hollow of clean white sand. A round table sits in the middle and Connor looks up as Nines approaches. 

Connor’s face holds an expression unlike anything he’s ever seen directed at him. Vivid fondness, and anticipation. His eyes shining the way they do when he’s been laughing, his dimples showing. 

Kamksi lifts his head, looking away from where he is prying apart a clam. He subtly gestures with his hand for Nines to join them, leaning over to pull out a third chair. 

Nines is filled with something that he doesn’t know. Warm and safe and open, but alert. Aware.

He’s still not convinced that he isn’t dreaming all of this.

Slowly, he sits down and Connor slides a plate of clams and salmon his direction. He takes it and glaces at his father, who is still silently and slowly shucking his clams. 

Connor and Nines share a look and Connor shrugs. So he doesn’t have any clues as to what’s going on. 

Nines clears his throat. “So, why did you arrange breakfast here?”

Kamski’s hands stop their work and he hesitates. “Earlier, I was thinking about your mother.”

Both Connor and Nines tense as he continues speaking. 

“I wish she was here to see you two all grown up. I know she would be proud.”

Nines blinks. Was that...pride that he heard? 

His father keeps speaking, head now held high and insightful. “Your futures are synonymous with the kingdom’s. I know you will both do great things for this kingdom.”

Oh wow. Nines was just hurled miles out of his depth. His father? Being proud of him and having emotions other than passive aggressive? 

He thinks he might be happy, but he can’t tell over the stun that seems to have stopped his ears from working.. 

Connor twaps his tail against Nines’, dragging him back into reality. Nines realizes that his brother is speaking with a smile to their father. 

“Thank you, father. Nines and I really appreciate it- and you should know that we wouldn’t be here without your guidance.”

Nines glares at Connor out of the corner of his eyes. Suck up.

Kamski smiles back. “Thank you, Connor,” he hums. 

Nines knows that that is bullshit- the nannies and Hank did most of the raising. But, well, he wasn’t about to start a fight so he simply tucks into his salmon and clams. 

Staying silent is a past time for him and he has no problem with it...but this time, it’s different. He’s more aware of his silence in comparison to them. 

He hears his brother and father having friendly conversation and Connor laughs brightly. They must have been having a lovely time before he came along. He tunes them out and looks over the coral into the distance, thinking about nothing. 

Connor suddenly smacked his shoulder. “What do you think, Nines?”

“What?,” Nines is snapped out of his trance, once again, by Connor. 

Connor rolls his eyes. “Nines, were you listening?”

Damn, caught red handed. Nines guiltily replies. “Uh, sorry, no.”

Kamski threads his fingers together and rests his elbows on the table. “We were talking about you, Nines. Please tune in.”   
Nines fights back the impulse to return a jab and turns to Connor politely. 

“Please repeat whatever you just said.”

Connor smiles warmly. “Sure! Father and I were talking about a territory expansion. You know how Simon and Amanda went out on that expedition, right? Well, they’ve gone into those unexplored waters to the west. We never used to go there because humans liked to go there, but ever since that orca whale family moved to different waters, the humans haven’t been around.”

Nines raises an eyebrow. “Why do we need more territory?”

Kamski replies with an air of cockiness. “Why not? It’s more space to hunt and those waters aren’t like local ones. They are far deeper, and we may discover new educational elements. We could greatly advance our science department.”

Nines can’t disagree with that, but…”You seem awfully confident that they will find what they are looking for. You may be overestimating the territory, and Amanda and Simon’s abilities.”

Kamski waves him off. “I’m not worried about them. And no matter what we may find in that territory, we can always learn something new.”

Nines admits to himself that his father has a good point. But he would never admit that. He simply nods.

Connor flicks his tail, the end curling around one of Nines’ chair legs. “I’m done with breakfast, so I think I’ll go to the ballroom and see how everything is going.”

Nines growls under his breath. Great, so he’s left alone with his father. That always goes well.  

Kamski nods to Connor. “We will join you shortly.”   
Nines’ eyes follow Connor as he swims away, longing to be in his place. He only looks back to his father once the last curl of Connor’s tail disappears down the path. He grits his teeth preemptively before speaking.    
“Yes,  father?”

Kamski doesn’t look at him, a faraway look in his eyes. “I wonder how this would be different if your mother were here….”

Nines blinks. He hadn’t expected that. “What would be different?”

Kamski looks back at Nines. “You know what. We don’t exactly get along and we both know why. And now it is too late.”

A lump suddenly makes its home in Nines’ throat. He wants to say it isn’t too late, they can fix it, just because Nines is entering a new phase of royal life doesn’t mean that family life has to be completely cut off. 

But he stays silent. His dad hasn’t tried to fix anything until now and Nines knows that just because he’s being sentimental right now doesn’t mean he’ll suddenly start trying. It’s always been Nines chasing after his father for attention, and he’s tired. 

He’s not going to keep reaching out for his father not to be reaching back. 

Kamski stirs and lifts his body out of his chair, startling Nines out of his thoughts. He turns away from his father as he unravels his tail to it’s full length and gives it a flick. 

“Come, Nines. The party awaits. Our conversation is not relevant to it.”

And just like that, the mask is back. 

A heavy stone settles in Nines chest as he follows the king down the path and back inside. 

Upon entering the building, Nines is instantly shocked out of the mindset his father had dragged him into.

The water in the building is nearly buzzing with activity. Nines couldn’t see five feet in front of him for servers, palace workers, and guards. He turns to look for an alternative route and as he scans for an escape, his eyes land on Connor at the top of the steps, looking down upon the room with his head tilted inquisitively. 

“Connor!,” Nines calls, making far too many heads turn to look towards him. He ignores them and waves at Connor to come down. Connor shakes his head. 

“No way I’m getting into that mess,” he calls back. 

Nines pouts. “So, I’m trapped then?”

Connor gives him a look as if he had just asked if it was ok to put a toaster in water. 

“Nines, you’re a prince. Just say ‘excuse me’ and people will move so you can get where ever you need to.”

Of course, since they’re calling across the room, everyone in said room hears and stops moving. Nines blushes. He hates inconveniencing people, especially people who are going a job.

People swiftly move so that there is a path to the stairs and Nines makes his way upwards to Connor with blue cheeks. 

“Thank you, everyone!,” Connor calls down and work resumes, the room returning it to the mesmerizing swirl of movement. 

Nines turns to Connor, who is hiding his smirk behind his hand. Nines glares at him

“Again, laughing at my pain,” Nines ridicules. 

Connor shrugs, appearing innocent and angel-like. “You’re just so funny, I can’t help it.”

Nines rolls his eyes even though he doesn’t really care that much. If it makes his baby brother laugh, it’s worth it. 

“So, what did you call me up here for?,” Nines asks. 

Connor turns away from him and crooks his finger for him to follow. Nines makes a face. 

“You aren’t going to tell me where you’re taking me first?”

Connor looks back over his shoulder, looking exacerbated. “Trust me, brother. You will want to see this.”

Nines growls under his breath, but follows Connor through halls and around corners. They were heading towards their father’s room. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in this part of the palace... 

Connor turns another corner and stops short. Nines nearly runs into him with how abrupt the stop had been. 

“What the- Connor! Why’d you stop?,” Nines grumps at Connor’s back. 

Connor wacks him with his tail. “Shh!” 

Nines is about to open his mouth and snit back at him, but silences himself preemptively when he hears Hank’s angry voice from within the room. Connor taps his ear and points to their father’s closed room before he glances at Nines and he nods. They’re going to eavesdrop.

They slink over to the door and press their ears to it, listening. 

A deep grizzled voice growls, “You can’t keep it a secret forever, Eli. You could be putting civilians in danger.”

Their father’s voice snaps back. “Hank, telling them would send them into a frenzy. And I already have guards over there. If they see anything, we’ll know!”

Hank scoffs. “Yeah, like having one post is going to turn over so much information. It could be anywhere, could come from anywhere. You should have scrambled guards and knights when you first found the damn scale.”

Connor and Nines share a look. What are they talking about?

Kamski growls. “I thought the thing was dead and that scale was that farmer’s idea of a joke. And you know that I couldn’t have scrambled anyone.”

“Why not?,” Hank scoffed. “You were busy planning a party that your son doesn’t even want?”

They don’t hear their father reply for a long second. When he does, he sounds exasperated and perhaps a little defeated. 

“Hank, you know why I didn’t.”

They hear a long sigh. “Yeah, I do. But….dammnit, Eli. How are you going to fix this?”

Kamski huffs. “How am I supposed to? The party is today. And if that thing shows up, well….there’ll be guards ready to do their job.

Hank hums. “What about that sound shield?”

“It’s not an option. Amanda and her assistant, Simon, are out on an exploration now. They are attempting to develop the technologies for that shield,” Kamski replies. 

Hank growls. “So, there’s no plan then?”

Kamski fusses back. “Like I said, I thought it was dead! I didn’t have any reason to worry until now.”

“Citizens have come to you with concerns for years. And most of them speak of sightings,” Hank drawls, sounding unimpressed. 

Kamski replies easily. “Yes, and I’ve sent patrols out to investigate every time we hear one. We have never found anything worrying.”

Hank huffs a short, frustrated breath. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Eli.”

“ I would think you’d have a little more confidence in me. You’ve known me a long time.”

“Too long…,” Hank mutters. 

Nines takes that as a warning that one of them is going to be exiting the room soon and tugs Connor in the opposite direction of the room. 

The moment they round the corner, Connor turns on Nines. “What were they talking about??”

Nines shrugs. “Someone dangerous, I think. Guards? Really? I don’t want to be having a loud party when whatever they were talking about is near.”

Connor winces. “Yeah, but...dad isn’t giving you a choice. And it’s today. So…”

Nines shakes his head. There’s not really any options left. It’s too late. 

“I’ll keep a sword close by, I guess.”

Connor nods. “What about that fluxshell Amanda gave you? It could be more convenient to carry around than a full sword.”

“Sure, if I had pockets in my topsuit,” Nines hisses back. 

Connor frowns. He opens his mouth as if to say something and closes it again without a sound. He’s out of ideas. 

Nines grimaces. There’s not much they can do without time to plan, and time is the exact thing they lack. 

“I guess I’ll just trust that the guards will do their job if this...thing.. shows up,” Nines sighs. 

Connor nods. “Yeah, not much else we can do than that.”

Nines growls. He hates being helpless. “Fine, well, I need a distraction. Otherwise I’ll think myself out of my own head.”

Connor raises his eyebrows, looking perplexed and amused simultaneously. “That would be interesting. You’d be a ghost or something,” he chuckles. “But ok, I give. We could go and check on the progress in the main ballroom? Maybe it’s ready by now.”

Nines looks over his shoulder, back towards the general direction of the main ballroom, where they had come from. He nodded absently and felt Connor’s wake as he darted past him. 

“Come on then!,” Connor calls insistently back to him. “Or I’m leaving you with your ever-evil thoughts.”

“Smug little shit,” Nines grumbles under his breath, but follows nonetheless. 

Connor bobs down the halls with youthful, almost childlike energy. He must be excited for the party.

Unlike Nines, Connor actually likes the engagement tradition. Apparently he thinks it’s secure, and brings community together in celebration of the union of two people and the future of a kingdom. On the other hand, Nines thinks it’s an ugly trick to lock royal blooded children- and their forced spouse- to the throne. No one else seems to agree with him. 

But hey, he’s entitled to his opinions, even if they’re stupid ones. 

Finally, they turn the final corner and are back where they started- the ballroom. It’s shockingly empty compared to how busy it was the last time they were in here. Only a few caterers lingered by the tables, fussing over just the right placement of various platters. Who knew two millimeters could change the entire outcome of this ridiculous travesty.

At least it's a nice day. Perfect for being a cynical asshole. 

Nines scans the room, a tremor making its way into his hands. This is really it. The party is about to start- about to flip his world upside down. 

He rubs a thumb across his own hand, admitting his own fear to himself enough to justify self-comfort.

Dammnit, he’s terrified…

“Hey, you! Come down here and gimme a hug.”

He jolts and looks down to the ballroom to see the tailor, holding his suit draped over her arm. Nines feels Connor dart from his side to go greet her. 

“Suck-up…,” he mutters under his breath as he follows enthusiastically. He’s a total hypocrite.

Anne, the tailor, wraps the arm that isn’t holding the suit around Connor as soon as he launches himself into her arms. She squeezes tight and lets go before beckoning Nines closer. As soon as he’s within her arm’s reach, he’s swept into a crushing hug.  

He wheezes. “Great Poseidon, do you aim to kill me?”

Anne releases him with a chuckle and he rubs his sore ribs, wincing. 

“Of course not, dear, you’d never get the chance to properly wear your lovely suit!”

Nines blinks blandly at her. “I’m so glad you obviously cherish me for reasons other than wearing suits.”

Anne huffs out a laugh, teasing. “No, only suits. Not at all how truly sweet you are when you want to be, or that you are smart as a whip, or that you have adorable little tendances and quirks that make you very endearing and loveable. Not at all any of those.”

Connor giggles into his fist from beside them and Nines flushes light blue. At the end of the day, his dignity was going to be extinct. 

Anne pats his cheek. “I’m kidding, hon.” She readjusts the suit on her arm where it’s been wrinkled by the movement of hugging. “However, I’m not kidding about the fact that you need to put this on for the party.”

Nines subtly grimaces. “Right.”

He loves the suit, but he wishes he was wearing it for a different occasion. It would feel lighter, not like prison.

He blinks. That got a little dramatic. 

He holds out his hands palm up to receive the suit, and cradles it carefully as Anne places it in his hands. Just as he is about to pull away to get dressed however, she latches a hand around his wrist, holding him there. He looks at her curiously. 

“Nines, I know that you aren’t excited about this. But listen. Whatever happens, bad or good...we will handle it. It will end up alright,” Anne says with calm determination and confidence.

Nines stares at her in shock. Was he that transparent? 

Anne smiles. “Yes, I knew that you were thinking that. I’ve known you since you were a little guppy, I know these things.” 

She releases his wrist and gives him a playful shove forward. “Go get dressed, hon. There’s still preparations to be done for this party.”

Connor grins from her side and waves him off. Nines wanders back up towards his room. 

His eyes stray to a window and to the ocean outside. It’s calm, a complete contrast to his mind. It’s a bit shocking to see the world so unreflective. So different to what his personal world is. 

The pendant grows warm on his throat, pulsing an odd feeling of anticipation. 

He wonders what Riverreed is doing right now…….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhh am I developing the plot? or just creating more shit for our poor boys to get past   
> who knows
> 
> by the way, the coming chapters- since I have a lot written, but my beta was out of commission for a while so that's why there hasn't been any updates....aughh sorry


	9. ??a???

**_Closer._ **

 

**_lonely._ **

**_need more._ **

 

**_Pink._ **

**_Friend…._ **

**_have small pink._ **

 

**_Closer._ **

**_Closer._ **

 

**_smell excitement._ **

 

**_CLOSER._ **

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oho its back


	10. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Markus is back!

Gavin is woken by an overwhelming dread pulsing from the stone on the choker around his neck. He scrapes at it, trying to get it away from his skin and disconnect the feeling. He shakes the dredges of emotion off as soon as he pulls the stone away. 

Weird. It’s like the stone has emotions of its own. Or is projecting someone else's to him……

He huffs. He’s overthinking a damn rock. 

He rolls over in bed, his tail shifting with him. Today’s the day, huh?

A insistent tapping on his window makes him jump, disturbing his blanket with his sudden movement. The blanket falls to the floor and he looks up to the window.

A friendly catfish face peers in at him and he smiles softly. He can’t resist that cute face.

He slides out of bed and opens the window for Lyki. She immediately curls around his shoulders and rubs against his cheek. He grins at her and pulls the letter from her tail collar. 

 

Good morning, Riverreed! Today’s the day. That day. You know. It was a weird start for me….by brother and father were acting weird. But good weird, I think. 

There’s not much to say other than good luck with anything and everything that comes your way today. 

-Echo

 

Gavin smiles softly. Poseidon, this guy has turned him into a mushy sap within a week….he’s so screwed.

Hey, if he gets lucky, maybe he is.

TMI? 

He folds the note and puts it under his bed with the others. Lyki wiggles under the bed to sniff the hidden notes as Gavin rights himself and rubs his eyes, still waking up. He meanders into the kitchen and stuffs a seaweed bar that was left on the counter into his mouth. He goes back into his room and as he chews, his eyes land on the sky blue suit hanging on his closet door. 

Shit. He’s Prince Markus’s date today. 

Gavin flicks his tail and as soon as he’s close enough, he drags his hand down the cloth of the suit. It’s soft, and almost relaxes him. Almost. 

Markus said to meet him at the palace at noon…..Gavin looks at the clock and just about has a heart attack. 

It’s 11:36?

He’s glad he already swallowed his breakfast, because he would have choked other wise. He frantically shoves the suit on, careful not to rip in it his haste, and rushes out the door. If he really moves his tail, he should make it on time….

His tail is a gray blur with how fast he’s moving as he bucks his way through a tall wall of kelp and dodges a swarm of fish. His tail and hips ache from how fast he’s swimming, and his gills flutter desperately. He is determined to make this!

He bursts through a frail sheet of seaweed and finally, the palace lays in front of his eyes. Just a little further…..

Suddenly, something tugs his tail. He whips around and bares his sharp teeth, immediately getting into an attack stance. 

Until he realizes that he’s baring his teeth at the prince of Jeiiko, Prince Markus. Luckily, Markus just looks surprised, and a bit impressed. 

Gavin trips over his own tongue trying to apologize. “Oh, great Poseidon, I’m so sorry, if I had know it was you, I wouldn’t have-uh- done that. I-” 

Markus dismisses his worries, hands up. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m impressed, you have great reflexes.”

Gavin blinks, struck dumb. “Oh. Thank...you.” 

Markus starts moving past Gavin. “Would you mind telling me where you learned that on our way to Cylia?”

Gavin’s insides freeze. He’s supposed to tell Markus about himself? Share his life with this guy? 

“Uh-”

Something catches his eye. A large group of guards has exited the palace gates, encircling the king in a protective ring. Markus clucks his tongue, pleased.

“Ok, they’ll be a bit behind us on our way to the party. So, about those reflexes you’ve got?”

Gavin felt his heart trip. This is actually happening. 

Markus smiles, oblivious to Gavin’s sudden panic. “No pressure, take your time.”

Gavin almost scoffs. No pressure?? It isn’t like he’s talking to the  _ Prince of Jeiiko.  _

Oh wait, he is. So yeah, pressure.

He clears his throat. Staying silent isn’t going to help. 

“Well, uh, my sister is a….hunter. And she raised me. So I learned from her,” Gavin stutters, feeling like his heart might just explode. 

Another thing North taught him- don’t trust strangers. 

Markus tilts his head in curiosity. “Your sister raised you?”

Gavin clenches a fist subtly, on the side that Markus isn’t currently inhabiting. He doesn’t want to go into details about losing his parents. “Yeah.”

Markus hums, his gills ruffling. “It appears she did a good job. I couldn’t sneak up on you at all.”

Gavin lets himself laugh a little. “Ha, yeah.” 

He hesitates. Is he allowed to ask the prince questions?

Screw it, he’s doing it. 

“Ah, I’ve heard that King Carl likes painting…..so, uh, do you like it as well? Painting?,” Gavin asks haltingly.

Markus looks blown away before he grins wide. “Yeah, I love it! I’m glad you asked.”

Gavin internally breathes a sigh of relief and asks Markus to elaborate. “What do you love about it?”

Markus’s eyes light up and he starts talking about art like he’s in love with it. Maybe he is. Gavin’s just glad he doesn’t have to awkwardly talk about his troubled life to someone so...bold. 

Markus is bright, a fiercely glowing star. Gavin is a shadow. Next to Markus’s light, he feels like he disappears. 

Markus makes grand hand motions in an attempt to explain how he moved the paint brush on his latest work. Gavin is just happy he doesn’t have to flounder his way through badly asked questions and answers he doesn’t want to give. 

They steadily tread on Cylia territory, tailed by the guards. Gavin is content to let Markus passionately talk about painting and techniques he’s picked up from King Carl. 

Gavin’s eyes trail up a Cylia palace spire, where a banner ripples proudly. The banner reads Congratulations Prince Nines in matte gold letters. Gavin quirks an eyebrow. Prince Nines probably wasn’t too happy about something so grand. He always came across as reserved at public addresses…..

He jumps when Markus puts an arm on his shoulder. “Still with me?”

Gavin looks at him and swallows the lump in his throat. “Uh, yep. No need to worry about me.”

Markus looks at him with narrowed eyes. “You sure? This is a pretty big event.”

Gavin blinks, taken by surprise. He didn’t think Markus noticed that. 

Markus slides the hand from his shoulder, down his arm, and to his hand. He grasps it. “If there’s any problems, just let me know. Alright?” 

Gavin nods. Huh. Didn’t expect the concern. 

Markus smiles. “Alright! Shall we?” He gestures to the Cylia palace gate.

Gavin is tugged along behind him and the gate guards open it and Markus excitedly darts through. A young merman escort is briefly stunned dumb as Markus and Gavin approach him before he snaps out of it and stutters for them to follow him to the ballroom. 

Gavin gasps, sending large air bubbles tumbling up from his mouth. 

Holy. Shit.

The massive outer luminescent doors to the ballroom are made of beautiful stained glass, towering meters above him. They are swung open in a colorful welcome to the ballroom, which is already swarming with merfolk. 

Gavin’s eyes sweep around the room. Two long tables piled with food line either side of the room. Everyone is in dark or navy top suits, regardless of gender. Some have tail circlets or bracelets. His eyes dart downwards to his own suit. The sky blue sticks out like a sore, if pretty, thumb. He looks sideways. At least Markus has a deep maroon red suit. He’s not the only one that sticks out a little. 

Just as he thinks that, his eyes hook onto another color in the crowd. 

Sky blue, like his. They match, that’s funny. Wonder who it is…..

He watches their back as they weave through the crowd. The stocky shoulders look familiar.

Just as he starts thinking harder about it, Markus squeezes his hand. 

“Ready to go have some fun?,” Markus asks, appearing excited. But behind the excitement, Gavin can tell that it’s an honest question about his well being.  

“Ready when you are,” he replies with a sly smile. 

Markus grins and leads him towards what appears to be the designated Jeiiko side. 

Maybe this won’t be so bad.

Gavin shoves his thoughts of broad shoulders and blue grey eyes to the back of his mind. 

He’s with one prince. He doesn’t need to be dreaming of the other. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was pretty short as well, but it's all building up to the party- and the drama afterwards ;)  
> I hope you'll stick around and read!


	11. ??a??n

**_Many._ **

 

**_friends?_ **

 

**_Lonely._ **

**_Pink watch over._ **

 

**_Rainbow ice._ **

 

_**Gift for pink.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> k, this is just getting creepy.


	12. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the party is here! and so is all the drama....

An elbow lands in his ribcage, someone is breathing in his ear, his tail gets slapped by someone else's flailing one, and he is so ready for this party to be over already. Yeah, it just started, and still. He’s finding himself looking for escape routes already. 

Damn, it’s only been 15 minutes. Why does time move so slow when things suck?

He wriggles his way towards the caterer entrance door, hoping to see the friendly faces of Kara, Luther, and Jerry sooner than later. They might at least offer a little bit of amusement from his poor social skills and laugh when he metaphorically trips over his own tail in far too formal conversations with guests. 

Poseidon finally grants him a little luck, as Kara and Luther swim out the entrance, hand in hand. Kara is wearing a dark grey suit, complementing Luther’s Navy blue one. Jerry follows them closely, in a dark green suit. All three are laughing amongst themselves, Jerry grinning brightly. 

Nines feels his tail spines relax a shade and makes his way to them without taking his eyes off of them. 

As soon as he enters their vicinity, Kara gives him a stern look. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be socializing with your guests, young man?”

Nines raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “Are you actually trying to mom friend me right now?”

Kara drops the face and rolls her eyes. “That never has really worked on you.” 

She lets go of her husband’s hand and tugs Nines into a hug. “Congrats on being an old person. Now go and meet your future spouse before I have to kick your tail into gear myself.” 

Nines grumbles. There’s the Kara he knows. 

He waves for them to follow him and grits his teeth. Time to dive back into the fray. 

With his friends crowded around him, he gets smacked around slightly less. Luther is especially helpful. His size is good for somethings other than great hugs. 

A squeal from beside him makes him recoil. He looks to see a group of intensely excited merfolk, that scream when he looks at them, crying about how much they love him. Why were they let into the palace? 

A hand suddenly grips his forearm and he whips around to see the face of a mermaid who is eyeing his crown. 

“Prince Nines! I was wondering where you were among all this mess. You look exquisite tonight,” she coos and runs a finger down his bared arms. 

Nines blinks and shifts away a little, watching as her finger trails down and off his arm. “Uh...do I know you?”

The lady smirks. “Not yet, but you will.” 

Nines grimaces. “Uh, I think...not. But thanks.”

The lady scowls and her hair flares as she spins away from him in a huff. “Fine. You’re missing out.” 

Nines inwardly groans. Why is everyone here either someone who wants his money, a politician, just wants a piece of his body, or a screaming fan? Is there no one here without a self serving ulterior motive??

He rolls his eyes up to the ceiling, where guards hover, watching. He would love nothing more than to be messaging Riverreed right now. However, when Lyki returned this morning, she didn’t have any return note from Riverreed, so Nines can only guess that his friend was busy and rushed off without writing any note. 

Nines flinches, startled, when the pendant suddenly glows a warm orange, the rusty orange complimenting his light blue suit wonderfully. He taps it and it pulses, almost like a tug. He feels his neck muscles tense as the tugging feeling intensifies, to his far right. His eyes are yanked upwards and lock onto a sky blue suit with white ribbons on the back. 

Just like his. His pendant warms.

That’s an interesting coincidence.

Who is that guy? All he can see is his back and the short brown hair brushing his nape, and the arm around his waist.

His eyes stray sideways to who that arm belongs too and his heart just about goes and jumps off a bridge directly into an active volcano.

That’s Prince Markus. 

Nines gulps. So the guy in the blue suit must be his special guest…

Merfolk clear the path momentarily and Nines has a clear view of the guest’s entire body and as the guest turns his head, Nines internally curses himself with every curse he knows. 

Tiger shark tail, scar across the nose, light stubble, grey eyes. 

_ Motherfucker piece of shit goddamnit.  _

It was the handsome dancer from the coral ring from over a week ago.

And he was Prince Markus’s special guest. 

“I need a drink,” he mumbles, his cheeks burning sapphire. 

“That was quick,” Kara comments as he moves away.

His eyes are locked on the floor. His chest burns with shame. Getting his hopes up was foolish. He saw the guy once, and it’s not like they ever spoke. He doesn’t have a reason to be disappointed.

So why is he?

As soon as he reaches the drinks table, he grabs a flute of champagne and shoots it down. It does nothing for his nerves, but the bubbles are a good distraction for a fraction of a second. He reaches for the bottle to refill his glass, but another hand reaches it first. He looks up and freezes.

“Uh….” 

He’s staring directly into the eyes of the light blue suit wearing tiger shark dancer, who looks just as frazzled as Nines feels.  

The dancer clears his throat. “Uh. Sorry, your highness. Er, here.”

The bottle of champagne is shoved into his arms and he looks down at it in shock. He’s about to say a polite thank you and go about his business, but what really comes out of his mouth is,

“You don’t have to call me that.”

The dancer looks up in shock and confusion. “Huh?”

Nines coughs. “Highness. You don’t have to call me that.”

The dancer looks as if he’s just met a talking rock. His face is twisted up in utter confusion. 

“So, what, just call you….Nines?”

Something in Nines’ chest fizzes and blooms. That….was different. A good different. Very good different.

“Um. Yes. That’s fine.”

He’s so bewildered, he doesn’t even notice his and the dancer’s pendants glowing and pulsing in sync. 

The dancer clears his throat awkwardly before quickly and quietly grumbling, “you can call me Gavin then.”

If the world around him was a video game, it would have lagged and his mind glitched.

_ What’s this? _

This dancer- Gavin- threw Nines’ stomach into confused summersaults, swirling like a washing machine. 

Nines just got grumbled at. By a civilian, who is treating him like a real person. 

He fights the urge to grin. 

Gavin is new and  _ interesting. _

“Oh...I will. Thank you, Gavin,” Nines hums, friendly.

Gavin opens his mouth to reply, his cheeks a very light blue, reflecting his suit nicely, when a voice booms around the room and cuts him off. 

“Greetings, all!,” King Kamski’s voice ricochets about the room, making Nines just about jump out of his skin. He puts the bottle of champagne back on the table before he gets the chance to drop it.

Kamski continues, showing absolutely no mercy for Nines’ now shaken nerves. 

“Please clear the floor as to let the dancing begin!”

Excited murmurs sweep across the room in a wave. Nines subtly glowers at his father. He knows exactly what he’s about to say; someone needs to be Nines’ dance partner.

Before Nines can escape back into the crowd, King Kamski points a commanding finger at him and puffs out his chest. 

“My eldest son, Prince Nines, has found a dance partner. Clear space for him and his guest!”

Wait. That wasn’t what he expected. 

Nines narrows his eyes, confused. His father is wrong, he hasn’t found anyone.

He hears Gavin’s voice mutter, “Oh, shit,” beside him.

Nines looks up to meet Gavin’s wide eyes, as they both realized just how absolutely screwed they were. Kamski thought Gavin, who was Prince Markus’s special guest, the guest of Nines’s rival, was his dance partner and the person he was interested in.

Oh.

Shit.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you done fucked up kamski  
> or was it gavin? or nines?  
> they ALL done fucked up how about that


	13. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kamski just fucks it all up, all the time, doesn't he?  
> It's about to get real interesting....

Gavin, face to face with the one and only Prince Nines, blanks. His brain just went and jumped off a cliff.

Just as he’s thinking about how much trouble he’s going to be in, not only for leaving Prince Markus but for allegedly leaving him for his rival and how absolutely dead he is, Prince Nines grabs his hand.

Gavin’s head snaps up like a whip. “What. Are you doing.”

Prince Nines visibly cringes. “Look, I know you’re Markus’s guest, but father- uh, King Kamski is going to have my head if I don’t do this, so just go with it.”

“Go with- woah!,” Gavin yelps as Nines pulls him toward the open floor.

Nines doesn’t spare him a glance as they make haste towards it and Gavin growls. He hates being pulled places.

He yanks on his captors arm and Nines wobbles and hesitates.

“What-”

Gavin cuts him off. “I’ll save your ass on one condition. I lead.”

Nines looks appalled. “Excuse me? Do you even know the traditional dance?”

Gavin rolls his eyes, internally freaking out because he’s being so informal with the prince and he’s actually getting away with it. “Are you kidding me? Of course I know it. I’m a professional dancer. Just trust me.”

Before Nines can open his mouth and argue more, Gavin tugs him onto the floor and flicks his tail- the signal that begins the ceremony.

An invitation to dance.

He sees Nines gulp and flick his tail back, hesitantly. Could this guy be any more enthusiastic?

Gavin spins outward and back toward Nines, close enough to hiss into his ear, “put some energy into it! Otherwise people could grow suspicious!”

Nines narrows his eyes. “You want to see energy?”

Gavin suddenly feels Nines tail twine with his and, before he can comprehend what the hell was about to happen, he was flipped upside down.

Shit, he forgot about this part of the traditional dance. There goes his dream of leading.

He and Nines separate and they curl into vertical rings before curving upward into double helixing twists around each other.

Gavin sneers. His dances usually feel graceful and planned.

But this?

This is more like a high-speed sword fight.

He and Nines stop ascending and bend backwards, away from each other in twin arcs.

Out of the corners of his eyes, Gavin watches Nines’ shoulder blades shift under his skin as he positions his arms and hands, one on top of the other, to streamline his body.

They swim back to back, there muscles rivaling for space as they weave through the water back towards the floor.

Just inches away from the floor, they peel away and circle each other, like cats stalking before a fight.

They flatten out into a horizontal coil, moving in a perpetual chase and follow.

Gavin can’t help but admire the way that Nines’ body curls as he moves, like a snake on the hunt.

Finally, the last move- grabbing the other’s tail and completing the circle.

The step that requires the most trust, to grab firmly enough to hold on but softly enough to maintain steady movement through the water.

The step that confirms the beginning of the betrothal process. Bonding, growing closer.

Gavin hisses sideways to Nines. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Nines looks pale and nervous. “Yeah, I hope I know what I’m doing too.”

Gavin gulps. That’s reassuring.

They reach forward in sync.

****

Fuck.

Gavin is about to be legally named Prince Nines fiancé.

In a kingdom that he doesn’t belong in, to a _Prince_ that he met roughly ten minutes ago, after leaving a different Prince.

...To be fair, Markus was boring him and was just talking to his friends about politics.

****

He reaches forward and his fingers brush they very end of Nines’ tail.

Clear and spotted with black dots. Silky soft and thinner than the thinnest paper, yet shockingly strong. Delicate.

His hand shakes.

He reaches farther. The clear tissue curls in his hand, and he resists the urge to stroke a thumb across the soft tissue.

He sucks in a gasp as he feels fingers on his tail. Nines’ fingers.

This is really happening.

And he goes a step further.

He reaches a hand sideways into the middle of the circle and a gasp ripples across the crowd. He glances sideways and meets Nines’ wide eyes.

Yeah, he knows. Reaching a hand in this dance? Dangerous for a couple of people who just met. He’s asking for endless trust.

Trust that Nines will get him out of this, or at least give him a reason to stay and go through with the marriage.

Just as he’s about to pull his hand back like it's been scalded, Nines reaches out and meets it, gripping tight. His eyes narrow.

_Trust me._

Gavin shudders with adrenaline. This wasn’t how he expected his day to go.

_No way out now._

They both reach forward and grip the other’s tail.

The crowd roars, shaking the windows and drowning out Gavin’s thundering heart beat in his chest.

He doesn’t even notice how Nines and his bodies are sparkling like there are diamonds under their skin and their pendants are shining like stars.

They release each other’s tail and let go of each other’s hands, righting their bodies.

As they hover next to each other, basking in the screams of celebration from the crowd, Gavin’s arm brushes Nines and gets a static shock.

Nines looks sideways at him, clearly shaken.

Gavin curses himself and tells himself that what he’s about to do is to hold up the image.

He reaches out and grips Prince Nines hand.

Immediately, he can feel Nines shaking. But even stronger, his pendant heating against his throat.

He looks down at it in shock, before looking back up at Nines and finding his eyes in the exact same place. His eyes dart down to a pendant that he didn’t even notice was around Nines neck.

It glows warm orange, pulsing. As he watches it, it seems to have a similar pattern to his currently frantic heartbeat.

 _Very_ similar.

Like exactly the same.

He’s about to be very weirded out when someone from the crowd cries, “Look! Look, all! Their necklaces!”

The room stutters to a hum of speculative murmurs, before a woman’s voice gasps, “Soul stones!”

Gavin blinks. “Excuse me?”

The room just about explodes with voices. Words about destiny, soulmates, and other brain freezing descriptors bounce in the air.

Nines and Gavin launch away from each other.

“What?!!”

Gavin feels like his heart is trying to climb out his throat.

Soulmates?!

No, no, no. Absolutely not. NOPE.

No one else notices his and Nines’ panic, too busy celebrating.

No one notices...until Prince Markus snarls.

“Nines!”

The room froze, all eyes staring at Prince Markus. His voice, especially with that tone, was certainly powerful.

Prince Nines turns to him, eyes widened for a split second and then narrowed.

“Can I help you, Prince Markus?”

Markus squares his shoulders, appearing proper and respectful even though the enraged twist in his face says something very, very different.

“Yes, I believe you can. You can help me- and yourself- by stepping away from _my_ guest.”

Gasps bounce around the room and Gavin flinches. The cat is out of the bag.

Nines glowers at Markus. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I cannot- will not do that. Gavin is my-”

Nines cut himself off and Gavin is immensely glad. He isn’t ready to hear that out loud. It doesn’t feel like he was ever going to be ready.

Gavin’s eyes stray across the crowd. His eyes fall on the Kings, hovering next to each other in a bit of shock, though their expressions are vastly different.

King Kamski looks very confused, like he’s having a bit of a personal identity issue. An emotional soup of relief and enragement.

King Carl looks vaguely disappointed, but is nodding to himself. He looks up and meets Gavin’s eyes with a kind- if not a bit sad- smile.

Gavin remembers what King Carl said the first time he met him, after his show.

_Don’t let me, or the world, tell you who you should be or not be with. Go with your heart._

He thinks of grey eyes and singing in the kelp garden…

He turns back to see the two princes with tense faces, lips curled as they argue.

Well, that isn’t very impressive. Weren’t these the future leaders of the kingdom?

And now, isn’t one of those leaders his….sort-of-not-really-fiancé?

Poseidon, that’s a startling thought.

Nines and Markus growl and argue back and forth, spitting insults with worsening severity.

Nines and Markus are nose to nose with deep scowls on their face the same moment that a lone soldier comes streaking into the room, panicking.

“Your Majesty, I- it- huge- red-,” they wheeze desperately.

Gavin watches as both King Kamski and King Carl’s faces change dramatically in horror and before he can think, he’s hit with a force that feels like a tsunami just ran over him.

He spins desperately, completely disoriented and smacking into other merfolk that have been tossed as well.

His memory is thrown backwards to when he was a little boy and watching the kraken throw soldiers spiraling backwards with huge swipes of its tentacles and the water that they disrupted.

The screams sound exactly as they were back then too, though the water is less saturated with blue. No blood has spilled, yet.

Gavin’s heart is just about ready to jump out his chest as he panics, eyes wide in terror and hands scraping through the water for traction, any kind of traction. He continues to spin wildly, feeling like he’s been stuck in a washing machine set on tumble.

The rabid terror of the people taints the water with the sour pinching smell of fear, making Gavin’s chest clamp down and his gills flutter for breath.

He hears a wail from below, near to the floor that he has been flung from and looks down. He has got to get a hold of himself!

He flails and rights himself, only to be faced with the worst case scenario he could ever think of.

The kraken, the whole ass kraken, is in the courtyard just outside of the ballroom. It had broken the beautiful glass doors and a massive red arm reaches into the ballroom.

Gavin scoots backwards frantically as the tentacle sweeps through the room, grabbing at empty air, barely missing a pink tailed mermaid scrambling to get out of the way. He sees clouds of merfolk spinning in the water, tiny minnows in comparison to the kraken. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Prince Markus and the two kings being shoved through a door, probably leading deeper into the palace. King Kamski looks frantic, fighting back against the guards, yelling about princes before being pushed further away and the doors closing after them.

Gavin’s heart shudders, adrenaline swirling. Where does he go now?!

He looks briefly behind him and sees merfolk piled on top of each other, tangled up and trying to get free. The ones who are free flail and flick their tails, frozen in fear or with nowhere to go.

Like pulp in juice, bumping into each other in their swirling panic.

For good reason. There’s a giant fucking octopus attacking.

He looks back towards the kraken’s arm, only to see ironwood very suddenly in front of his face.

“Oh fu-,” he’s cut off by it hitting him full force into his torso, and he’s flung backwards.

Was he just hit with one of the tables?

He lands on something soft and the air is punched out of his lungs, air bubbling out of his mouth.

He groans and blinks his eyes open. Yep. That’s a table, on top of him. His ribs are going to be sore for days.

He squirms, desperately trying to push the table off of him to no avail. Damn, it's way too heavy to do alone.

He nearly dies of shock when the floor beneath him moves. He landed on something alive? Not the floor?

Apparently so, because he just about has an aneurysm when Nines voice comes from beneath him.

“Stop moving! Your elbows are jabbing into my stomach.”

He freezes. Shit, shit, shit. He needs a snappy comeback, he’s too stressed for this.

“I didn’t even know you were there! Suddenly the floor has a voice, and it’s yours, how the hell was I supposed to know? I just got clobbered by a fucking table! Wait, can you move?”

Nines growls. “Not anymore, I can’t. You landed on me and started jamming your elbows into my stomach, so excuse me for not wanting to projectile my breakfast due to your bony elbows!

Gavin huffs. “Yeah, well. I was just trying to move. I don’t particularly like being trapped under something while a giant murderous octopus is in my general vicinity.”

Gavin internally cringes. That came out sounding worse than he planned.

Nines chides at him with a puff of small bubbles and reaches past his head to push at the table. It doesn’t budge an inch.

“See, my elbows are the least of our problems right now,” Gavin grumbles back at Nines.

Nines just huffs.

Gavin suddenly realizes exactly how they were positioned. He is, very very literally, crushed into the prince’s lap right now.

So, while being trapped under a table, which was tossed at him by a giant rampaging octopus, he’s also being all buddy buddy with the prince. And not the prince of his kingdom, who was his actual date, but his rival prince, who he was now kind of engaged to.

Right.

Ok.

He pinches his arm. It stings and he rubs it. At least he knows he’s not dreaming.

Gavin tries twisting his head to see a way out. “What are we going to do now? Being stuck here makes me feel like a sitting clam with that monster of an octopus there.”

He feels Nines shrug. Wow, that’s weird. He can actually feel the prince answer without looking at him.

“Well, the thing isn’t in the room anymore. I think it's in the courtyard, the guards pushed it back.”

They hear a roar that makes the windows- the unbroken ones- tremble. A flash of red tentacles shoots away from the castle and Gavin can see guards chase after it on hippocampus.

A scene he’s scene before….years younger…..

He snaps out of it when Nines shoves at his shoulder.

“There are other guests that will need help. Try to move the table again?”

Gavin shifts, hyper aware of every place he and Nines touch. This time, squirming around is _not_ an option. That would be rude.

Also, Gavin might just overheat.

He shoves against the table, feeling how he is pressed backwards by the force. Well, Newton’s law is certainly working. He’s pressed further backwards as the force he applies to the table is making him brace against it further. He can feel Nines ribs against his back as he struggles to move it even an inch.

“What about your tail?,” Nines asks, his voice right next to Gavin’s ear.

Gavin stops struggling and growls. “It’s trapped under the table.”

Nines hums and Gavin can feel the vibration against his spine. He is _way_ too close. His cheeks are going to be blue for days…

“Try flexing it? Or moving it? Like a lever, it could be able to move the table...mine is underneath yours, I’m sure we could move it together.”

Gavin is very glad his face is facing away from Nines view, because he feels like his blush could be used as a glowing beacon at this point. Thank Poseidon he’s not a body blusher. Nines would definitely notice that.  

Gavin clears his throat to rid his voice of embarrassing flustered squeaks. “Sure, maybe that would work.”

Nines shifts his shoulders to prop himself up better and Gavin can feel his stomach muscles clench from behind him.

Dammit, no mortal merfolk should be allowed to do that. It's making Gavin’s heart go into overdrive.

Gavin tenses. If he can get this stupid table off of him, then this tantalizing torture can be over.

“Right. Ready when you are,” Gavin says, sounding far more confident than he really feels.

Nines nods-another thing Gavin can feel- and arks his tail up under Gavin’s. The table shifts a little.

“Hey, its working!”

Nines grumbles. “Yeah, but we aren’t free yet. Keep going.”

Gavin puts aside his flustered mess of emotions and shoves at the table again, tail muscles pushing at it with all of his strength. Nines tail under his does the same and they finally lift it and tip it to the side with one final shove. It tumbles once and stops with a thump, on it's back.

As soon as he’s free, Gavin shoots off of Nines lap.

Fucking finally! He thought his heart was going to explode in his chest if he was there much longer.

He glances back at Nines.

If Gavin didn’t know better, he would think that Nines looked almost...disappointed.

But he does know better, so he’s sure he’s just imagining it.

“Right, so. You said that other guests would need help?”

Nines nods, brushing bits of rubble off of his formerly spotless topsuit. “Yeah, I did. You go right, I go left. We’ll help who we can before the guards come back.”

Gavin raises an eyebrow. Separation, ok. Good, good, that’s good. Logical. Makes sense.

He tells the feeling of disappointment to go fuck off someplace. He sat in Nines lap. That was closeness enough for a lifetime, and his fuzzy feelings need to get over themselves.

It’s an accident that he’s engaged to the Prince and they’ll figure it out and he’ll be let go, to go back to his normal, lonely life and Nines will find someone deserving of the throne.

He turns his back to Nines.

Yep, that’s what’s going to happen... And he is one hundred percent ok with that...totally fine.

Gavin growls to himself.

totally fine.

...fuck.

He’ll teach himself how to be fine with that.

Gavin glances behind him again, making sure that the kraken really is gone, before moving forward towards the mess. There are merfolk pushing stuff off of themselves and floating up into the open water, surveying the mess with wobbling lips and scared eyes.

Gavin sighs, relieved. Maybe this attack won’t be as tragic as the last.

He turns and sees a cyan seahorse tail peeking from under a pile of curtains and rubble. His heart skips. He remembers his mother….

He snaps his teeth together, pulls himself together, and rips off the sheet, which sends rubble and dust flying away with it.

Kind brown eyes blink up at him.

“Wha- prince Connor!,” he gapes. He shoots forward, offering a hand. “Are you ok?”

Connor looks around, dazed. “Um, yep. I’m good. Whooo, that was weird.”

He suddenly grins at Gavin. “Thanks for helping me!”

Gavin nods, dumbfounded. Huh. Connor was just as nice as everyone said he was. How adorable.

“Er. Happy to.”

Connor takes his hand and Gavin tugs him upright. He’s surprisingly unhurt, other from some dust in his hair.

Connor pats his hand, friendly. “Thanks again. And I’m glad Nines found you. From what I’ve seen of you, your personalities are pretty similar. In a good way, I think.”  
Gavin nods, suspicious. “Prince Connor, pardon my...informalness, but, uh. I think you’re in shock. You do realize we were just attacked by the _kraken_ , right?”

Connor’s face lights up. “Oh, yeah! Haha, right. Maybe I am. I feel fine though.”

Gavin nods, placating. “Right, sure,” he says sarcastically. “But really, please make your way to the nurse. Just in case.”

Connor nods and starts moving towards the back of the room, where Gavin can see three different doors.

That was pretty easy.

Guards spill into the room from one of the doors and start making rounds, shuffling through rubble.

Gavin huffs, his shoulders dropping. He’s so glad that the professionals are here to do the job. He’s not trained for this. What the hell does he know about rescuing people? If he had to keep going, he’d probably send a soldier to be tended to by one of the nursery school teachers.

So much has happened, he can’t even comprehend it. He needs a break or his brain is going to short circuit.

Gavin turns his back to the ballroom and shifts towards the wreckage of the glass doors.

The shards of colored glass make the floor beneath him appear as if a rainbow fainted, spraying broken color across the floor where its body landed.

Gavin feels cold. The world is painted with greys and navy blues in his mind. Such a happy event, full of new beginnings, dashed by the destructive arms of the kraken.

Why was it here anyway? Looking for food?

No….it hadn’t made a single reach for the tables. It’s arms went for the people.

Gavin let his head fall into his hands with a groan. Whatever the kraken was trying to do, it was gone now.

What wasn’t gone, was Gavin’s soon to be seen as a “Royal Incident”-betrothal to Prince Nines.

Poseidon, the ocean really tossed him into a washing machine set on high. He’s been tipped upside down, sideways, bounced off several walls....

It feels like his brain has stretched interdimensionally.

He was thoroughly tumbled and frazzled to the core.

Behind him, the voices of guards ring in the ballroom, directing guests this way and that, calling for medics as they displaced rubble.

“Excuse me, all!,” King Kamski’s voice reaches Gavin’s ears and he spins around to listen.

King Kamski looks ruffled, and King Carl hovers a few feet away, looking tired. Unlike the fiery Kamski, Carl looks frail and elderly.

That’s the reason Markus has been looking for a partner for so long…..he has to take the crown soon. Carl isn’t going to last too much longer.

Gavin felt even more guilty for leaving Markus.

“All guests from Jeiiko are requested to stay here,” Kamski’s voice is loud in the shaken atmosphere, “as we make sure that the kraken is truly gone from our premises. All guests will be accommodated within the palace.”

As soon as he stops talking, muttering breaks out amongst the people, who are huddled in frightened groups.

Gavin isn’t paying attention who’s moving towards him, busy staring in the crowd of frantic, shaken merfolk being herded into the palace by the guards, and so he just about jumps into another dimension when someone places a hand on his shoulder.

He turns and dies a little inside when his eyes meet King Kamski’s.

The king. Nines father. He’s so dead.

He braces himself for whatever punishment the king is about to rain down on his head, but instead Kamski grins.

“I didn’t expect the guest of prince Markus to end up with Nines, but I’m glad you did! Maybe now Nines will settle down a little. I certainly haven’t ever seen him so excited to dance with someone before.”

Gavin blinks. “Um, yes, I- uh -thank you?,” he stumbles over his own tongue trying to answer.

Kamski nods, clearly not caring about the absolute mess of a sentence that just came out of Gavin’s mouth. Or he wasn’t paying attention.

“Right, so, as is tradition, you will sleep with Nines tonight. I will have a guard escort you to his room as soon as possible, so just stay here.”

Gavin feels all his limbs go numb. Sleep with- what?!

“Excuse me? Sleep-”

Kamski turns to see Gavin’s face, pale in shock, mouth gaping open. He laughs.

“Oh, no, not like that. In the same room. Same bed, if you like,” Kamski clarifies. He winks. “Although you can certainly do whatever you and him would like once the doors close.”

Gavin chokes on his own saliva and coughs.

Kamski pats him on the back heartily. “I don’t really care what you do with him. That’s your business. He’s here to be the future king! And you’re here to be by his side.”

Gavin feels a cold rod of dread go down his back. He’s not sure he likes Kamski much…

“R-right…,” he mutters. He feels like a toy, being played with.

Kamski seems to like him only because he’s going to be Nines’ chain to the kingdom. He’s doing a job, wrangling the prince, and it doesn’t matter if he’s being with him because he wants to be.

He reminds himself that in the end, he does have a choice. But how Kamski is speaking makes him feel like he’s already been shackled to the throne.

Kamski pats him on the back again, chuckling. “I’ll have an extra mattress set up in the room in case you don’t want to sleep in his bed yet. All these changes are happening quickly, and I’m sure they’re a lot to take in.”

He pats him on the back one more time and moves back towards the crowd.

Gavin’s throat feels tight and the places where Kamski touched him feel like they need an intense cleaning coral scrub.

Gavin realizes that Kamski didn’t even ask his name, where he was from, if he was ok from the attack, he did have a couple scratches on his face to show for it… He didn’t ask him a damn thing.

He’s just a pawn. A low commoner here to do a job for the political and royal elite...the fucking users.

He scowls. He’s already regretting dancing with Nines.

And Nines is going to know that.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GODDAMNIT KAMSKI  
> NOT AGAIN


	14. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the after shocks of the night  
> and some awkward feelings.

Nines rubs at his cheeks with a cleaning cloth, his hands shaking. The cloth keeps slipping from his jittery hands, he’s so amped up on adrenaline. Or, he was, and now it was wearing off.

Like a hangover, but there was no fun the night before. Just fear. Wow, in the history of after parties, not that he went to many of those, but seriously, that went down as one of the worst. One of? Really, not the worst? OK fine, yep, it qualifies as the worst. Now he was babbling in his own mind, fan-fucking-tastic. 

Either way, he feels like a big cup of jello, wobbling and jittery with the slightest movement.

He keeps turning over the events of the day while he goes through the mindless routine of getting ready to go to sleep. 

_ If _ he can sleep. After getting accidentally engaged, and then the kraken attacking?

He’ll be lucky if he can even feel the least bit drowsy in the next year. 

Ok, maybe that was just a slight exaggeration. 

And he still hasn’t heard back from Riverreed…hope he’s safe. Wow, not a full non sequitur, but randomly tangential. Huh. Maybe he actually is tired if his brain is wandering so fast. 

He harshly rubs his eyes until he they ache and he sees white bubbles. He desperately hopes his night routine would just start the calming sequence he so relies on already. Waiting for these quaky feelings, both physical and mental to finally go away is seeming to take forever...

There’s a light knock at the door, making him jump. He curses himself for being so on razor’s edge and replies in a tired voice for them to come in.

An unfamiliar maid brings in an extra mattress while trying to bow and say “your majesty” all at the same time. Not at all graceful, and humorous to watch.

Or, would be humorous, if he wasn’t so deeply exhausted. His bones feel like lead. 

She puts it on the floor and makes for a hasty retreat while doing the bow and your majesty thing again, surprisingly only made slightly less awkward than when she was lugging a mattress.

Nines raises an eyebrow at it, as if expecting it to explain itself. When it does nothing, he turns back to his routine.

His arms move from muscle memory, picking up a toothbrush, toothpaste….pen and paper…..

Huh?

He looks down. His hands have discarded his toothbrush and toothpaste to the side and instead, he holds a pen and paper. 

Lyki is curled up on his bed and he looks over at her. She twitches her whiskers at the sight of the pen and paper and rises from the bed to swim over to him. She brushes his shoulders, waiting for him to write the letter.

He chuckles softly, raising a hand to stroke down her back as she comes to a hover over his shoulder. At least he’s still got her at the end of this day of hell.

And Riverreed. He’s got them.

He scribbled something random and rambling, tired hands making the text wobbly. He rolls the paper up slowly and tucks it under Lyki’s collar before opening the window for her. She slips out and disappears into the darkness. 

Nines smiles weakly. He feels like all his energy has been drained and he’s just a sad, wilted piece of seaweed being tugged by waves. One too strong and he could be knocked loose. 

He groans out loud to himself. Today has had too many metaphors. 

He’s tired as fuck. There. Blunt. Done.

He reaches for his toothbrush and toothpaste again, and starts brushing his teeth. The feeling of the bristles is grounding and he lets his shoulders fall and tension roll off them. Lets his chest rise and fall slowly, calming…

Breathing, in and out.

Sleepy...

His eyelids droop…

The toothbrush starts to slip from his grasp...

Until his door is knocked on, again.

His eyes snap open, hand tightening on his toothbrush, and irritation fills him to the brim. He glares daggers at the door, wishing that whoever was outside would feel his overwhelming annoyance and be scared away. 

Unfortunately, they don’t, and knock again. 

“Prince Nines! Your highness, a guest. His majesty said that he was to stay with you.”

Nines growls, something angry twisting in his gut. Damn his father. 

“Come in,” he growls, surprised at how deep and threatening his voice sounds in the empty room. 

The door creaks slowly open, obviously hesitant. 

Nines narrows his eyes after no one enters. “So? Where is this insisted upon guest?”

He hears a squeak and suddenly a merman is shoved into his room. Clearly the guest wanted to be there about as much as Nines wanted him there, if the escort had to shove him in like he’s being fed to a pack of lions. 

The guest’s forehead thunks against the door, now closed and held very tightly shut.

“I didn’t know  _ guests _ were held against their wishes!,” the guest hollers at the door and the guard on the other side holding it closed.

Nines doesn’t even have to look at the guy to tell that he was sneering. 

That blue suit, the tiger shark tail….

Nines sighs, complacent. If he was going to have to deal with this, at least it was this guy. There are worse guests to have.

Besides, they were kind of engaged, so they had to get to know each other at some point.

He sighs again and turns around, mouth open to apologize for the guard’s behavior. Get off to a friendly start after that mistake of a dance...

His jaw closes with a snap when his eyes meet a glare that could make a stone turn to dust. 

“Don’t,” Gavin says, his voice lined with something...livid. Untouchable.

Nines gulps. He’s mad? Did Nines do something….maybe he never should have dragged him to dance. He should have fought against his father, said that he was wrong….

Gavin huffs. “Are you just going to sit there and stare at me?”

Nines blinks. “Uh, no. What else am I supposed to do?” 

Gavin grumbles something, waves a dismissing hand, and wanders over to the mattress left for him.

He turns his back to Gavin and back to his toothbrush. 

Fine, they’ll just ignore each other.

Nines goes about his nightly routine, making his bed, arranging his desk for the next day, the such. Mundane and boring, but keeping him occupied from the new distraction of Gavin.

Until he hears Gavin grumble under his breath. Nines’ back still turned to him, Gavin taps him on the shoulder with as much reluctance as he seems to be able to muster. 

Nines turns his face to look at Gavin and is met with the same angry eyes, but now with slightly blue cheeks. 

“Yes?,” he prods, trying and failing to keep smugness from entering his voice. 

Gavin’s lip twitches up into a snarl. A shiver goes up Nines spine. That’s scarier than he’ll ever admit. 

“I need a toothbrush and cleaning cloth, you prick.”

Nines’ eyebrows shoot up. He didn’t expect such snark to come out of a mouth like that to be directed at him.

His mouth answers before he gets a chance to think. “In the cabinet.”

As Gavin goes into the bathroom and looks through the cabinet, Nines is shocked with himself.

No snark? No snappy comeback or cold response? He just answered the question without putting any kind of distancing humor or nip of passive aggressiveness anywhere in it. 

He glances back at Gavin, who has found what he needs at this point and is delicately running the cleaning cloth across his cheeks. Quiet, tired, probably feeling less than spectacular because of what Nines had done. 

Damnit. He messed up. 

Nines feels a wave of guilt flood over him. He usually would ignore it and push it aside, but this time…. 

“Hey, uh, Gavin.”

Gavin hums back at him, hopefully a signal to continue. 

Nines clears his throat. “Sorry about...earlier. I should have asked you first.”

He hears the clack of Gavin’s toothbrush hitting the sink. Shit, did he make it worse?

“Whatever. It's not like this is going to last anyway, so don’t worry about it. I’ll do the month, refuse to marry, and we can both go along our merry way.”

Gavin’s words hit Nines like a ton of bricks. He knows that statement to be true, and the best choice, and probably the easiest, but….had he subconsciously gotten his hopes up? 

Nines glares at his sheets, turning his back to Gavin once again. He’s disappointed with himself; getting his hopes up over a stranger and a stupid accident that forced them together. He had let his walls fall, and his sensitivity had been a mistake. Had gotten him hurt.

Nines hears Gavin rustling around in the bathroom more, and needlessly dusts off his bed cover. A nervous tick.

He made a mistake to be that emotionally vulnerable.

He isn’t going to make that mistake again. 

“Hey, do you have extra blankets?,” Gavin’s question makes Nines chest feel like it's been filled with ice, shaking cold. 

Nines just points at a drawer, back still turned. He’s not getting more involved with this guy than he needs to.

For the rest of the time getting ready for bed, they ignore each other. Backs turned, mouths closed, no eye contact. Just the rustling of blankets being found and the lights being clicked off without any further dramatics. 

Nines is facing the wall, tucked under his covers and very much ignoring the fact that Gavin exists and is in his room. 

Then he hears a shuffle, like someone rolling over. And again. Sheets being rearranged. Rolling over again. 

Nines growls into the dark room. “Stop moving, you’re keeping me awake.”

Gavin huffs. “I can’t sleep, ok? Just give me a minute.”

“What are you, a kid guppy? Just lay down and shut up,” Nines scoffs.

Gavin snarls. “No, asshole, it's just, y’know, we were  _ attacked _ by the  _ kraken. _ No big deal, only we could have  _ died _ . So yeah, like a normal person, I can’t sleep.”

Nines glares at the wall without seeing it. The covers feel too heavy and itch against his skin. When he tries to scratch the feeling away, it just gets worse. Like it's coming from within his skin. 

He’s just so  _ tired  _ of all this shit. 

“Fine, well. If you’re awake anyway- and keeping me awake- how about you tell me something about yourself?”

“Whaaa?,” Gavin scoffs. “Why the hell would I do that?”

Nines huffs. Gavin is making it sound like he’s just told him to go up and talk to humans. “It’s just a suggestion. And you know why.”

He can hear Gavin shift on the mattress, sitting up, and then flopping back onto it. 

“Yeah, well, I’ve already told you my thoughts on that. I’m not going to tell you more.”

“And why not?”

“Because you’re a prince?”

Why does that matter so much? “So?” 

Gavin puffs out a pathetic imitation of a laugh.  “I already said this...this thing isn’t permanent. Neither of us want it to be, so I’m just a random guy that happened to make a mistake that involves you. And you’re a prince. Don’t you have more important things to think about than some random guy’s life?”

Nines feels his throat tighten, sour. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

“Come on! You’re trying to tell me that a peasant is of singular interest to a prince! Puhleeze.”

“You do...interest me, that is.”

The room drops into thick silence for a moment.

“Oh.” Gavin sounds shocked, and humbled. Embarrassed.

Nines rolls his eyes even though he knows Gavin can’t see him.

“So tell me.”

There’s a pause, heavy. 

“I mean-,” Nines stutters. This is just a repeat of the mistake he made earlier! Forcing Gavin’s hand. “You don’t have to-”

“It’s fine.” Gavin’s voice is flat, quiet. 

Nines shuts his mouth immediately.  

“So, what do you want to know?”

Nines freezes. He doesn’t dare push Gavin again, not after the mistake of the dance.

“Uh. Whatever. This is just….a distraction. To help you- um. So you can sleep.”

Gavin doesn’t make a sound and Nines cringes. Damnit, that was unintentionally sweet. Is that weird?

Gavin clears his throat, which clears Nines worries a shade. “Um, ok….I was only invited to the  dance because I’m a dancer. That’s my job, professional dancer.” 

He cuts himself off short and Nines holds his breath, giving him space to talk. 

“It’s an ok job. I’m good at it, so. Easy money,” Gavin admits quietly.

The room is silent other that the subtle sound of the water current swaying the kelp outside of the open window. Nines dares.

“So...why did Markus choose you?”

Gavin scoffs, exasperated. “In Jeiiko, he saw me dancing. Took interest, I suppose, like all the other audience members. Just...a pretty face that can dance.”

He sounds sad, as if he felt like a tiny pebble at the bottom of the sea, ignored and alone. Grey and tiny and nothing.

Nines heart squeezes. 

“And, I was paid by King Carl, so. That’s also a big reason.” 

Nines frowns, disappointed. He and Gavin had met each other because of money? Something about that felt slimy. 

“So. There’s me. What about you?”

Nines is snapped out of his thoughts. “Huh?”

He hears Gavin click his tongue. “I told you about me, so you tell me about you. Typically how this works. But I actually have questions.”

“Ok...what?”

Gavin hums. “How about….why do you want to get married? Dammit, you’ve got tons of time. You’re still so young.”

Crap, that’s a whole can of worms that Nines isn’t so interested in opening. Yet, anyway.

Nines chuckles shakily. “Wow, going for deep and personal questions so soon? Bold move, especially after you were so rude to me.”

Gavin grumbles. “Yeah, well, you were the one who got us into this stupid situation in the first place. Forcing me to dance.”

Nines shrugged, even though Gavin couldn’t see him. “You agreed to go with it. And, you were the one who insisted to lead. I don’t qualify that as forcing.”

Gavin grumbles again, something that Nines doesn’t catch, and silence falls across the room. 

Selfishly, he doesn’t want the conversation to end just yet. He can’t remember the last time he got to have such casual conversation with anyone else than his brother. And now that he had it, he craved more.

“Hey, what’s Markus like?,” he asks, praying that Gavin would answer. 

To his relief, Gavin hums back, “Speaking of personal questions, I think that qualifies as one.”

Nines chokes. He pushed a line again-

Gavin sighs, cutting his thoughts off. “He’s very...determined and headstrong. He’ll make a good king. But he’s a little loud for me, a little distracted. Not my type.”

Nines raised an eyebrow to himself. What’s that supposed to mean? He pushes the line again.

“So, what  _ is _ your type?”

Gavin coughs a laugh. “Do I look like a romantic guy to you? Why would I have a type?”

“You just said that Markus is too headstrong for you. Makes one think that you may prefer something else instead.”

Gavin laughs again. “Aren’t you just a regular detective? Paying attention to details like that.”

Nines hears shifting again, covers being rearranged. The room feels like it is waiting for more words to fill it. 

Gavin’s quiet voice trickles across the silence. “I didn’t think you were actually listening.”

Nines knows how awful that feels like; talking into empty air to someone who doesn’t want to hear his words. He wouldn’t do that to someone else. Besides, why would he?

“Why wouldn’t I listen?”

He hears Gavin scoff. 

“Well, your highness, I would  _ assume _ that someone as royal as you wouldn’t bother talking to peasants.”

Ok, that stings. 

“You assume wrong.”

He hears Gavin tsk, unbelieving. “Hm. Really.”

Nines growls. He thinks he knows him so well? 

“I much prefer the, as you call them, ‘peasants’, to the royal voices in this castle.”

Gavin admits a curious little, “Oh?” and Nines caves. 

“Look, I  _ don’t  _ want to get married. I don’t want to be married to someone that is only in it for my crown, or money, or fame. I…”

He pauses. He hadn’t told any one besides Connor this, and he didn’t even go this deep into the explanation when he did tell him. 

But Gavin is listening and interested. Nines couldn’t deny that. 

“I want to find someone that isn’t always acting, acting like they’re with me for me and not my crown. My father, King Kamski is forcing me to search for a partner as a way to ground me to the castle, stop making trouble.”

Gavin hums. “Yeah, I heard the same thing from him. Chaining you to the kingdom. I….no offense to him, but, uh, I don’t think I like him much. Treated me like an object.”

Nines nodded. “Yeah, he has a certain way of making people feel that way. Sorry.”

“Eh, it's fine. I’m used to it. Dancer, remember?”

“Yeah, but you also said that you don’t like that either. Or at least the ‘object’ part. It's a general sorry.”

“Oh….thanks, I guess.”

Nines smiled to himself. That’s a little bit of progress. 

Gavin scoffs, sounding like he’s chasing laughter back down his throat, never to be released into the air. “Keep talking, before it’s awkward.”

“Fine,” Nines snorts. “What am I supposed to be saying?”

He hears Gavin hum. “Well, you make it sound like the end of world that you’ll be stuck in the kingdom. It’s literally your duty though. I mean, you’re a prince.”

A stone makes its way into Nines throat. “Yeah, well. I don’t want the crown.”

“Huh??,” Gavin gapes, flabbergasted. “Why??”

Nines turns back to facing the wall from where he had turned to be on his back. His tail spines brush the sheets below him. 

“Because people treat me like some high up super merman. They don’t speak to me like a normal mer. I mean, really, I can’t remember the last casual conversation I had with someone that wasn’t my brother or my bodyguard.”

Gavin was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was laced with rare empathy. 

“Kinda sounds like we’re in the same boat here. You’re treated like an object, I’m treated like an object. Just for different reasons.”

Nines hums. “Yeah….guess so.”

He hears Gavin yawn and fights back one of his own. He hadn’t realized how late it was.

“Well, goodnight,” says Gavin from his mattress. 

“Yeah, night,” Nines replies quietly. “And….thanks.”

Silence falls across them as they both drift into sleep. Neither notice a little catfish coming into the room, dropping a rolled note onto Gavin’s pillow, and then leaving back out the open window and into the night.

****

\----------

  
  


Nines rolls over blearily, the mist of sleep slowly dissolving from his head. 

He had such a weird dream…..dancing the traditional betrothal dance with a tiger shark tailed man at a party…..

He blinks and the sleepy fog completely disappears. His memory returns with the weight of a brick falling from a ten story building. 

That wasn’t a dream. 

He looks over the side of his bed and across the room to the mattress in the corner. A person-shaped lump rests on top of it, slow breaths making the cover rise and fall. The tip of a soft grey shark tail, speckled with dark grey spots, peeks from the end of the covers, too long to fit underneath them. 

Nines gulps. There were a lot of puzzle pieces to fit together here, and he didn’t want to deal with it. At least, not at the moment.

He shifts from under his covers as quietly as he can, folding his tail spines down enough to avoid them sticking into the covers. He rises from his bed, smooths the covers out, and slides out the door. He closes it carefully with a subtle click and breathes a sigh of relief. 

Gavin seems like a great guy, but right now? Nines needs space. A lot of it.

He goes downstairs without interruption and on his queue, a maid hands him a plate with sliced salmon on it before bowing and backing away. Nines frowns, but does nothing to correct her. Technically, she’s doing her job. 

He hears raised voices coming from a door to outside and a stressed nicker of a hippocampus. Something twists inside his stomach at the worried braying and he helplessly follows the noise. 

As soon as he strays into the outdoor sun, he’s struck with panic. 

Those are Simon and Amanda’s hippocampi! 

But Simon and Amanda aren’t with them. 

His father is amongst the crowd of merfolk huddled fretfully around the creatures, and he’s visibly arguing with Hank. 

Nines wanders closer, close enough to hear the details of their conversation. 

“Yes, I know it’s dangerous. However, it's worth the risk. That’s my head scientist, Hank. And her apprentice, who is learning fast and valuable to this kingdom! We can’t just ignore this!”

Hank growls in Kamski’s face. “Damnit, would you listen, you bastard? We will send a search party, but not until we have more information! We can’t risk our troops going into unexplored waters, unprepared for what they could face. That’s like sending a minnow to fight a shark.”

Kamski scoffs. “Hank, are you the king of this kingdom? No. You are a general. An  _ ex- _ general.”

Hank opens his mouth with angrily curled lips, but Kamski cuts him off. 

“Stop, Hank. I will think about your words. But in the end, it is my decision. It would do you well to remember that, and remember your place.”

Hank stands taller, his back straight as a plank even though his eyes are still flaming.

“Yes, your  _ majesty _ ,” he spits. 

Kamski narrows his eyes at him, before swinging around and heading Nines direction. He passes him without a word. 

Nines waits for him to go through the door and back inside before rushing over to Hank. 

“Hank, what the hell is going on?”

Hank turns to look at him with furrowed brows and sighs, sounding defeated. 

“Amanda and Simon’s hippocampi came back without them, scared as all hell and scratched up.” 

Hank strokes a hand down the neck of one of the hippocampi, who is still shifting and braying in flustered panic. The handler has to sternly pull on the reins as to not get pulled away. Nines squeezes a hand into a frustrated fist. These poor creatures had really had their nerves shaken to the core. 

“I think we should wait until we can find some farmers that know the area that they came from. They could have very valuable information.”

Hank sighs, letting his hand drop from the neck of the hippocampus and back to his side with a frustrated clench of his fist. 

“But...his majesty, your father, disagrees. Did you hear him?,” Hank rumbles the question towards Nines without looking at him. 

Nines hums confirmation and Hank scrubs a hand down his face with a grumble. 

“Anyway, you have other things to worry about. How is your guest today?”

How is he? Besides quietly sleeping in Nines room after talking late into the night about feelings Nines has never talked about with anyone else, fine. Yes, fine, totally fine. 

Nines looks somewhere in the distance, avoiding Hank’s eyes. 

“He’s fine.”

Hank raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “Wow, nice obvious lie there, Nines.” 

Nines’ stomach clenches. Why did he expect that Hank wouldn’t see through him like glass? 

Nines lets his head fall down a notch, submitting to the truth. “Ok, well….mostly fine. It’s weird, I don’t know.” He rubs a hand on his neck guiltily. 

Hank nods with a smirk, the smug bastard. “There’s my old friend, the truth.” He waves a hand in the water, like he’s swatting flies. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just talk to him!”

Just talk to him? 

_ Just talk to him?  _

Nines snorts. Please. Conversation? Communication about feelings? 

Um, no thanks.

He would no longer qualify as the emotionally constipated fuckwit that he is. And he’s perfectly content with that.

Nines echoes Hank’s unimpressed eyebrow raise. “No.”

Hank shrugs. “Worth a try.”

Nines sighs. “So,” he starts as he reaches for the reins of one of the hippocampi, “where did Simon and Amanda actually go that’s so risky?”

Hank grasps the reins of the other hippocampus. They need to be seen for their injuries and then put into their stalls to rest.

“That’s the problem. It’s not a well known area at all. The deep water to the east is a place where only the bravest farmers go, against safety recommendations, of course. They say they collect minerals that they can’t find in shallower waters there. Anyway, we haven’t even sent patrols there, so we don’t know what’s out there.”

Nines blanks, his head empty. Even the ex-general of the army was saying this place was dangerous and yet Amanda and Simon went there? Holy fuck. 

They swim in silence on their way to the palace veterinary station, Nines deep in concerned thoughts. They kick up sand that floats over their tails, hippocampi obediently following their tail wakes. Everything is hypersensitive and bright, the salt in the water singing on Nines skin as he flows through the water. His skin buzzes and he clenches his muscles, trying to defuse the tension. Looking at the hippocampi makes him anxious to move, to race through the water, to snatch back his friends from whoever or whatever took them.  

He gulps down the lump that had formed in his throat. He had forgotten what it felt like to feel emotion so intensely.

As soon as they reach the vet, he shoves the reins into the hand of a handler. Ignoring their bewildered gasp and Hank’s confused shout, he spins around and shoots back towards his room. 

Just thinking of the kraken now flings him into a snarling rage. That lump of slimy red beast took his mom, his friends, and ruined his engagement party. Crimes that he isn’t going to let it get away with. 

He’s going to go and give it a piece of his mind. 

He speeds up, his hair flattened against his forehead and his tail a virtual blur with its fiendish speed. Adrenaline makes the ache in his tail disappear allowing him to propel himself through the water with a ferocity he’s never experienced before.

He’s got a bag to pack and friends to rescue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nines no. Nines why.  
> Going alone into unexplored territory, untrained, and going on anger. could you be more stupid?  
> oh well.....maybe someone will tag along....


	15. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone order some fluff? Cuz this is a lot. Party size order, people.

Gavin woke with his face pressed into his pillow and could immediately tell that there were going to be impressions in his face when he lifted it off of the offending pillow. He flipped over and growled, voice sounding like he had gargled gravel.

“Hrmph,” he sniffed to himself. The sunshine was weirdly bright in his room, so much so that it bled past his closed eyelids, staining them an opalescent red. Did something happen to his window? He’s only got one in his room…

He cracks a blurry eye open and nearly screams, shooting up into a sitting position. He doesn’t notice a small roll of paper rolling off his pillow and onto the portion of blanket stuck between the wall and his mattress.

Where the hell is he? Was he kidnapped by someone?

He looks around the room further. Kidnappers with some damn high class….the entire fancy room is fit for royalty.

Memories suddenly strike him like a spear.

Royalty.

Great Poseidon, the dance. Prince Nines, the soulstones….

 _Fuck,_ he thinks, his heart racing like a stallion. He doesn’t need to look in a mirror to determine that the burning in his cheeks is absolutely making his face burn sapphire.

He hides his face behind his hands, groaning. He’s really dug himself a deep grave this time.

Of course, with his hands over his face, he can’t see the door. So when it creaks open, he nearly jumps out of his skin. He can’t even pretend to be asleep since he’s already sitting up, so when Nines’ eyes land on him he can’t do anything but stare back with an eyebrow raised.

“Oh. You’re...awake.” Nines sounds flustered, his cheeks dusted light blue.

Gavin nods slowly, suspicious. “Yep.... Sure am. What’s got you all blushy?”

Nines flushes even darker. “Nothing! And you’re one to talk!”

Gavin scoffs, his cheeks still burning. “Whatever..”

Nines grumbles and turns away, going towards his closet. Gavin scoffs again. That’s real mature, walking away from a conversation when you get too embarrassed.

Gavin remembers that he did the exact same thing to Tina back before his performance that attracted Markus and scowls. He’s such a hypocrite.

He yawns and stretches, feeling his tail muscles flex satisfyingly. He turns his head to look about the room once again and catches his reflection in a mirror.

He doesn’t usually have a inflated ego, but damn. He looks adorable. He grins to himself. Was that what got Nines all up and flustered? Gavin is definitely adding that to his list of accomplishments.

Make a prince blush with your cute morning look? Check.

He turns to look at where Nines is shuffling around in his closet, shoving things into a travel bag.

Wait, what?

“You going someplace?”

Nines freezes at Gavin’s question. “Uh. No.”

Gavin folds his covers back and lifts himself out of bed. “Really? So what’s the travel bag for, prince?”

Nines glances back at him and growls. “Not really your business.”

Gavin crosses his arms. “It will be when I tell the guards that their precious prince has run away.”

Nines abandons his packing and turns all the way around to Gavin, crowding his space. “Not. Your. Business.”

Gavin pats his chest, which is shockingly close. Wow, he’s fit. His chest is totally solid.

Stay focused!

Gavin grins, feeling cheeky. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I hit a sour spot? Whoops. And it is my business. They’ll certainly believe me, we danced last night. And I wouldn’t be a very good ball and chain if I can’t even keep you here for one day.”

Nines growls deep in his throat, eyes narrowing. Gavin gulps. That should not be as hot as it is. Stay focused! Wait, he said that before, and it didn’t really help.

He must still be just waking up, Gavin isn’t usually this cheeky with a clear head.

“I’m right about this,” Gavin hums in Nines face, pretending not to be the least intimidated.

Nines turns back around, totally ignoring him.

Gavin follows him. “You know I’m right. They will get suspicious.”

Nines sighs. “Do you have any good ideas then?”

“What?”

Nines looks back at him again. “Ideas. On how to make them not so suspicious.”

Gavin blinks. Oh, he’s going along with this? That easily? Huh. Well, this could be a fun way to give the proverbial middle finger to the king. Oh, he should not even be thinking that. Holy moly he needs to fully wake the fuck up!.

“Well, uh, if they see your hippocampus gone by itself they’ll know you went alone and will think that you’ve either run from the engagement or gone after the kraken because it took your friends. And I know you’re going after the kraken, your face says it all. You’re pissed off, not sulky.”

Nines looks over his shoulder, again. “Yeah, thanks, _detective_. I said a solution, not an analysis.”

Gavin grumbles. “I’m getting there.”

Nines turns back to his packing. “Get there faster.”

Gavin shrugs. “Fine. If I go with you, they’ll think we’re just ‘getting acquainted’ and it will make your dad none the wiser for a while.”

Nines looks at Gavin, slowly blinks, takes a deep breath and relents. “That’s…..actually not a terrible idea.”

Gavin looks both pleased and stunned by Nines response.

“So what do we need to pack?,” Gavin asks, crouching down to Nines level, next to his travel bag.

Nines hesitates.

“I shouldn’t ask you to do this. It’ll be dangerous. I can’t guarantee your safety,” hisses Nines.

Gavin completely ignores him. He’s already made up his mind.

“Packing list?...No? OK, so what do you pack when you need to rescue people, stay hidden from the kraken, and not piss off the King?  Well obviously we’ll need first aid supplies, and food, we’ll need to talk with the kitchen about that…,” Gavin continues to mumble and plan while quickly putting things into a bag he found in Nines’ closest. “And ropes! We’ll need ropes.” He suddenly says more intensely and louder as he deliberates the essentials to bring.  

“What? Why?,” Nines asks, looking utterly irritated.

Gavin grins. He knows what he’s doing. Time to one-up the prince in terms of knowledge.

“Because the water to that side of the territory is deep, so if someone is hurt, you can swim them up by holding them, or can you tie one to you. You wrap the rope around their waist for easier transport and it doesn’t injure them more.”

Nines’ eyebrows raise. “How do you know this?”

Gavin waves a dismissing hand. “My big sis is a hunter. We go into deep water regularly and when we get a bigger catch, we have to drag it back up. Plus sometimes we get hurt and so the other has to drag us back up.”

Nines quirks an eyebrow. “That last part sounds suspicious.”

Gavin rolls his eyes. “Well, genius, hunting giant tuna can be dangerous. It happens.”

Nines narrows his eyes further, staying silent. Gavin grumbles, fists clenched childishly by his sides.

“It’s totally normal! I’m not trying to kill you, fuck.”

Nines looks at him weird. Like that stupid meme of the cat being threatened with a knife. Gavin huffs. “Trust me, alright? I was trained to hunt. If I wanted you dead it would have already happened.”

Nines’ eyes got impossibly wide, before he fell backwards, shaking with laughter.

Gavin gapes. “What the hell is so hysterical?”   

Nines coughs, gasping through his laughter, “Are you trying to threaten me?”

Gavin glares at him, fists at his side. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

Nines giggles, stupid on laughter. “No offence, but I feel like I’m being threatened by a cupcake.”

Gavin gasps dramatically. “How dare you?”

Nines’ fist is thumping against the ground as he laughs. “I can’t even tell if you’re serious anymore, great Poseidon.” He sits up wobbily and coughs again. “Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that hard. You’re so amusing.”

Gavin whines. “I am very serious! This is serious!”

Nines laughs into his fist. “That’s what makes it funny!”

Gavin just stares at Nines, a reluctant grin making its way onto his face. He was the one to turn cold, distant Nines into a giggly mess. Another accomplishment to add to the books.

****

\-----

****

Nines peeks out from around a corner. “Ready?”

Gavin answers from behind him. “I’ve been ready.”

“Ok, around this corner is the stables. Grab the hippocampus on the left of mine.”

“Who’s is it?”

“No ones.”

“Are you sure? You’re supposed to know these things, you’re a prince.”

“Why would I know?”

“Because you live here.”

“Whatever, shush. We need to hurry.”

Gavin grumbles something along the lines of, “Don’t tell me to shush. You shush,” but follows Nines obediently to the stables. They split at the stable opening to fetch their respective hippocampi and tack them up, adding saddlebags to the mix. Not a word was spoken. Soft rustling could be heard as they got ready only broken with the occasional impatient snort from the hippocampi.

They both lead their respective hippocampus out of the stables, still silent. They give each other a look before mounting in sync and they’re off, water rushing past their ears, their hair being swept back. The strong, fluid movement of the hippocampus under them is a steady fast rocking as they race forwards, towards danger.

Gavin glances behind him to the kingdom in the distance steadily growing smaller and he flares his gills in the rush of adrenaline that comes with the sight.

This is really happening. Is he living in a fairy tale? He’s running away with a prince to save the kingdom scientists, which were taken by the giant kraken from all the legends, after getting accidentally engaged to said prince, after having sort of run away from the other prince, who happened to be the current prince that he with’s rival.

Fuck, that’s a lot of info to absorb.

Gavin shakes himself out of it. They were going to be riding for a while and he needed to focus.

Nines points in the direction that they’re going and they dart further into the depths.

****

\-----

 

Gavin looks up, squinting in an effort to see the light. It’s gotten dark and cold, but he knows it's not night time. They’ve just gone that deep.

He shivers. That’s creepy.

“Ah, Nines. Hold on.”

Nines, who is ahead of him, turns and looks over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to get the glow crystal out of my bag and attach it to my hippocampus’s head armor. I need some kind of headlight.”

Nines nods and pauses, surveying their surroundings. Or keeping guard. Gavin appreciates both.  

Gavin digs through his left saddlebag, feeling for the hard material of the glowlight. As soon as it's exposed to the outdoors, it’ll glow, but while in the bag? Impossible to find.

His hand bumps against something else and it wraps around his finger. He almost jumps, thinking it’s alive, but as soon as he realizes it's curled up paper, he raises an eyebrow to himself and pulls it out of the bag.

A note.

How did it get in his bag? Did he miss Lyki coming by? Or was it there by coincidence?

He remembers something brushing up against his cheek last night….maybe it was this. When he woke up he must have bumped it and it fell to the floor, only to be swept up with the other things he had quickly shoved in his bag.

“Hey, the bag eat you or something? Hurry up!”

Nines’ voice jolts him out of his thought process. Fuck, he’s got to focus!

“Uh, yeah, I almost got it.”

He resumes rustling around in the bag and quickly finds the stone under his palm. As soon as he pulls it from the bag, it erupts into a amber orange glow, washing the space around him in color. He blinks, his eyes adjusting. He moves to the head of his hippocampus and clicks the stone into place on the headpiece.

He’s just adjusting it when he hears distracted humming from ahead of him. Frozen in place, he listens.

Is that coming from prince Nines?

Soft and melodic, reminding Gavin of the color of sapphire and the slow movement of starfish on the bottom of the ocean. The rain on the surface of the sea, the flash of silver fish scales passing a window, kelp swaying in the flow of water from where it is grounded to the sloping cliff face of rock.

Gavin closes his eyes. He feels safe, as weird as that is, deep in unknown territory. But Nines is here. And he feels ok.

His eyes snap open when he feels something brush his tail. Looking down, it’s just a stray minnow, but holy fuck. Well, that safe feeling is gone.

“Nines, you should get your headlight as well,” he calls forward.

Nines’ quiet humming jolts to an embarrassed stop and he coughs. “Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

Nines dismounts the same time that Gavin gets back on his hippocampus.

While Nines is fetching his glow crystal and attaching it to the headpiece of his hippocampus, Gavin reads his note.

****

_Riverreed, you wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had. The engagement party was ridiculous. I thought my heart was going to explode._

_Ok, so._

 

  * _I met this guy, and he’s different. Like, your kind of different. Talks to me like a normal mer. Like, wow. Special._


  * _He’s a dancer. Not just any though, a really good one. While we were dancing he was pulling some seriously ballsy moves and looking ludicrously good while doing it? I think my brain melted._


  * _The kraken attacked. Great Poseidon. By the skies. Oh. my. Seas. I thought my heart was going to come out of my throat!_



 

****

_Anyway. There you go. I sent you a letter this morning, but I didn’t get a reply so I hope you’re doing ok._

_Sleep well tonight._

_-Echo_

****

Gavin smiles softly, despite the small twisting of jealousy in his gut. Special guy, huh? A fellow dancer? Pah. Gavin’s sure he’s better.

….And he’s not just saying that because he wants to dance with Echo.  

Something else blooms in his stomach, fluttering and ticklish. Echo was there, at the same time as Gavin. They could have met…..

“Ok, let’s go!”

Gavin looks up from the note in his hand and out of his daydreaming. Nines is looking back at him expectantly and Gavin nods before reaching back to stuff the note into a side pocket of a saddlebag.

“Ready.”

“Good.” Nines turns back around to face forward, determination written clear on his face. “Let’s move. We still have a ways to go.”

****

And a ways to go? We past that a good hour ago! This should be called “way the fuck past ‘a ways to go’.”

They duck under clouds of algae and dart away from swarms of fish, where sharks and swordfish tend to congregate. They go deeper, the open water a deep serene blue without the bottom in sight. The occasional fish passes them, but otherwise they’re mostly alone.

Alone with their thoughts and with each other.…...or that’s what it would feel like if they actually talked at all.

Gavin scowled. Nines was completely ignoring him, instead occasionally muttering to himself unintelligibly  and then falling into silence again.

Gavin glares so hard at the back of Nines’ head that he could swear he saw dents forming where holes theoretically would be burned in. Nines shows no sign of noticing.

Gavin looks down, huffing. Is he pouting? Yes, he is. And it's totally mature and adult pouting. Very manly.

He’s about to let himself soak in dejected self-pity when he sees something bigger than a stray fish under him and he urges his hippocampus to stop and point the headlight in that direction.

Ground!

“Hey, Nines, look down!”

Nines- finally- looks over at him before directing his hippocampus and the light downwards. He makes a bewildered noise and drifts closer.

“It’s ground, but….kind of not. What are these rocks?”

Gavin looks closer. The rocks are perfectly normal, but the algae on it was like nothing he had ever seen. Shallow water algae- that he’d seen- is fluffy and soft. This is hard, flat, and _purple._ Purple algae? How deep are they?

Nines hums. “Weird…let’s look around here.”

Gavin looks up from where he had been rubbing a finger over the weird algae. “Why?”

Nines shrugs. “I could say that we’ll find clues, but really, I’m curious what this is and what other new things we could find.”

Gavin quirks his head to the side. “Ok, that’s decent reasoning, I guess…” He looks away, scanning the environment. There’s not much to see, really. Just rocks and the occasional crab. He dismounts his hippocampus and with a flick of his tail, he stirs up sand. Tiny crabs scurry from their hiding places under the sand and under the surrounding rocks.

Huh.

Ok.

He wanders further, ignoring Nines’ curious chirp directed at his back, and brings himself to be horizontal to the ground. He flips rocks over casually and watches, bored, as crabs scitter away.

“There’s not really anything here,” he calls back to Nines, not caring if he hears or not. He’s in that kind of mood, after Nines ignored him for so long.

Prick.

Ok, he lied. He does care.

“Did you hear me? Hey-,” he turns around with his lip curled up to face Nines but freezes when he sees what’s in Nines’ hand.

“Is that….?”

“Yeah.”

Gavin inches closer to peer over Nines’ shoulder.

“A kraken scale….”

Gavin still doesn’t know why the kraken, a giant _octopus_ has scales. Obviously for armor, but do octopi usually have scales?? Nope! So why does the giant, murderous one have them? They just make it harder to kill!

….ok, that’s probably why.

Nines rubs a thumb over the smooth scale. Crimson red and as hard as diamond, it’s nothing short of a biological masterpiece.

Made Gavin all the more pissed off that something so valuable was gifted to the one beast that has been terrorizing his kingdom and his people.

….Not his. He’s not royalty.

…..yet? Since he’s engaged to Nines? But he already said that they weren’t actually going to go through with it….ugh, now he regretted saying that.

While his back is turned and he’s lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t notice an eight armed creature dragging itself out from under a rock. Small, red, and visually distressed from where it had been rudely trapped under a rock, it shoots past Gavin and Nines in an effort to escape.

Of course, Gavin doesn’t think about the fact that this small octopus is scared of him and trying to escape. All he registers is _tentacle_ and _near his face_.

He shoots backwards with a squawk, his tail flailing and his arms pinwheeling. Nines jumps as well, eyes wide and body cowering from the admittedly tiny and non-threatening octopus darting away from them with increased speed.

But it was still red and panic pounded against Gavin’s ribcage, memories flashing across his eyes so fast they blurred.

In his panic, his tail cracks across the rough rocks, and blue quickly blooms from the wound.

“Ow, fuck!,” he cries as he whips around to hold it, watching the blue of his blood flowering and wafting further into the water. Crap. This isn’t something first aid is going to cover.

“Nines? We have an issue.”

Nines’ eyes are glazed and distant, staring into the open water where the octopus disappeared.

“Nines!”

No response.

“NINES!”

Finally, Nines jolts and his eyes snap to Gavin. Gavin can see his chest rising and falling rapidly and his gills fluttering with how quickly he’s drawing in and expelling filtered water.

“Hey...uh, you ok over there?,” Gavin says hesitantly. He’s never seen Nines scared and he  hopes he never does again. He’s almost glad he’s holding onto his tail, unable to swim over without releasing it. He wouldn’t be able to stop his muscles from moving him over to Nines and dragging him into a hug.

Dammit, his heart’s gone soft.

Nines has a hand on his gills and the other over his heart. Gavin can see him gulp. “Uh, yeah. Yeah. I’m fine.”

It's a lie, obviously. The hand over his gills is visibly shaking. But Gavin won’t press.

“Ok, well. We have a problem.”

He sees Nines slap himself on the wrist and his eyes harden. Physically pulling himself back to the present.

“What is it?”

Gavin grimaces down at his tail. “Uh.”

Nines stares at it. “Seriously?”

Gavin glowers back at him. “It wasn’t my fault!”

Nines scoffs and crosses his arms. “Oh, so the rock just reached out and bit you?”

“No!”

“So it was your fault.”

“No!!”

“Sounds like it to me…”

Gavin growls. Nines growls back, looking smug. Because that’s what he was. A smug fucker that should go be eaten by a shark.

Or tell more stupid jokes and tease Gavin more, cuz it made his chest do stupid things like flutter.

Ugh!

Gavin huffs again, ever the mature choice. “Either way, we shouldn’t stay out here. The blood will attract….things.”

That woke Nines up. The playful smile melts off his face like candle wax. “Oh.”

Gavin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, _oh._ ” He releases his tail and, flinching as the water enters his wound, swims back over to his hippocampus who had obediently stayed where he had left it.

He carefully mounts it and waves to Nines. “Don’t forget the scale. But hurry up. We can come back…..just, after I have a wrap on my tail.”

Nines looks down at the scale in his hand and flips it over, humming. “Ok...finding this is good enough for today.”

“Yeah, it better be….my tail paid for the damn find,” Gavin mutters under his breath.

Nines tucks the scale into one of his saddlebags and mounts his hippocampus with ease. All the grace that a handsome prince is supposed to have.  
Gavin looks away. One month, he said, and he’s gone. Then Nines can find someone that’s actually worthy of the throne. Gavin isn’t that mer.

_I could be…._

Gavin internally slaps himself. No! How dare that pernicious little thought wander into his mind!

Nines pulls in front of him and looks up. “You want to go closer to the surface? Might be less risk.”

“Risk?”

“Yeah, for your tail? Since you’re bleeding?”

“Oh. Right,” Gavin replies awkwardly. Has he lost that much blood that it's affecting his brain?

Nines tilts his hippocampus upwards and with a swift swat from his tail, their off. Gavin follows closely, watching as the water becomes lighter and lighter as they approach the surface.

Navy blue to sapphire to azure to sky blue, they climb higher, their hippocampi cutting smoothly through the water.

They are joined by a pack of dolphins with soothing grey skins, whose bodies swirl and dance together in play.

He sees Nines grin at them and then chirp with the dolphins, sending singing trills through the water to join their conversations.

Closer and closer, the surface looking like molten silver from below. Closer….

He takes a gulp of water through his gills and holds it just before they breach the surface and arc through the air. They’re flanked by the dolphins, the rainbow colors of their hippocampi looking utterly out of place against the grey of the dolphins framing them.

The sunset paints them all burning oranges and pinks.

Time slows.

Gavin can see the water droplets that clung to them upon their exit in the air, the sun creates a pink that flares like sequins against the wet surfaces of the grey dolphins.

And Nines.

Closed eyes, hair sluicing water into the air, and the widest, most free grin Gavin has ever seen. The colors of the sunset splash so many colors across this face, he could be an abstract painting, fit to hang in a museum and be gazed at by a million strangers who will have been entranced by his beauty. They leave the museum wondering who he is and praying they’ll one day meet someone and they’ll be even a fraction as beautiful as he.

Gavin watches, still in slow motion, as Nines opens his eyes. Beads of water balance on his eyelashes, and droplets roll down his cheeks, as if they’re caressing his very skin.

But his eyes. They gleam like two blue diamonds. The sunset catches on the darker flecks within and turns them royal purple.

Gavin swears his heart stops when Nines turns those eyes and that grin towards him. And Gavin can’t help it when he grins back.

Too soon, time speeds back up and they dive back into the water to be swarmed by the dolphins.

Gavin blinks as he’s immersed in the water once again, back into reality. Fuck, what just happened? And why does it feel like his heart has been replaced by a jackhammer?

He looks over to Nines, who is twisting and turning in order to chirp at the dolphins swirling around him. He holds back a sigh. As much as this is great, his tail feels like there’s burning hot coals being pushed into it.

“Nines! Before it’s dark!”

Nines looks up from where he’s scratching the nose of a young dolphin and his smile fades a little. Gavin inwardly cries. Don’t go smile! Stay! You’re so pretty!

Of course, he would immediately deny ever thinking anything close to that if he was ever asked.

Nines nods, and pats the dolphin on the head before turning his hippocampus around and urging it forward. He passes Gavin without a word- only a side glance- and they head for the castle using their hippocampi’s finely tuned noses to guide them back.

Which means Gavin can relax.

Not.

“What did you think?”

Is Nines trying to make small talk?

Gavin shrugs, even though Nines can’t see him. “I mean, it was interesting. Found a scale. Didn’t die.”

Nines chuckles ahead of him. “Yeah, and got scared by a tiny octopus.”

Gavin grumbles. “Shut up. Plus, you got scared too.”

Nines huffs. “Not that bad. I didn’t jump so hard I tore my tail open! So I win.”

Gavin snorts, sending bubbles up from his nose to tickle up his cheeks. “When did this become a competition?”

Nines waves a hand flamboyantly.  “When was it not? Get with the times, Gavin.”

Gavin tsks. “Weirdo.”

Nines snips back. “Nerd.”

“Fish brain.”

“Clam head.”

“Sand eater.”

“Shark- uh. Shark killer!”

“What?,” Gavin laughs. “That isn’t even an insult!”

Nines laughs lightly back. “I was being original! It was an attempt!”

“Not a good one!”

“I said it was an attempt! Not a good one.”

Gavin rolls his eyes at Nines back. “Yeah, that part was obvious.”

They fall quiet again, letting their hippocampi gently carry them forward. It was darker now that the sun was nearly all the way down and they swam in cool dusk waters close to the surface.

Gavin clears his throat. “So, when we get there. How do we get back in?”

He sees Nines back muscles tense. Didn’t think that far ahead, huh?

“Uhm. Well. Hm.” Nines puts a hand to his chin. “I guess we could go back through where we came out of this morning?”

Gavin raises an eyebrow. “Through the kitchen catering door? Won’t there be a ton of people there at this time of night?”

Nines shakes his head, looking at Gavin over his shoulder. “No, the staff should all be at the dinner table now, being waiters. It should be fine if we’re quick.”

Gavin looks at him with a side eye. “Ok….but if we’re caught, you’re in charge of making up a cover story.”

“Fine.”

Nines turns back around. The kingdom is now in sight, a dark silhouette in the night water. Gavin can see where the dining room is according to where splinters of light are glowing.

“By the way, food should be left in my room for us. I sent a message to the kitchen about that this morning.”

Gavin blinks back to Nines. “You thought that far ahead?”

Nines hums. “Well, yeah. I figured you wouldn’t want to sit at the grand table with my father and all the drama and sophisticated rules. You haven’t been here for hardly any time! It would be overwhelming.”

Gavin blinks as his throat grows a little too tight for comfort. Nines thought of him? And his feelings and needs?

Fuck, his heart just melted into a puddle of goop. He’s never been taken care of like this, how else is he supposed to react?

“Oh,” He whispers quietly back to Nines.

He isn’t sure Nines heard him until he hears an equally as quiet, “is that ok?”

Ok?

OK???

It is more than ok. So ok. 1000% ok.

Yeah, he’s super ok with being taken care of. Or at least into consideration.

He sounds uncharacteristically humbled when he replies, “Yep. All good.”

Nines nods to himself. “Good. Ok, good. I’m glad.”

Gavin gulps and tells his melted heart to shut the hell up when it flutters.

No more words are exchanged as they near the kingdom. They pass above the guards hovering vigil at the gate. Gavin raises an eyebrow. He expected a better guard, since this was a kingdom palace.

Eh, it was convenient for him and Nines, so he can’t complain.

The hippocampi get tucked quietly back into their stalls and are given loving pats for being so good today.

After they remove the saddles they empty the saddlebags, all the while looking over their shoulders and listening for surprise mers. They put the saddles in easy to access location in preparation for going back out the following day, and silently dart over to the catering door. Gavin grits his teeth the entire time, his tail throbbing in pain. He swallows down all sounds of   pain that are threatening to escape and follows Nines inside.

It’s bright, and he blinks hard to adjust. Nines was right; there’s no one there. He can hear chatter from his left, where the dining room is. The king’s voice echoes over the others, assertive. Gavin narrows his eyes. Still not so sure about that king. He’s so….full of himself. Isn’t a king supposed to prioritize his citizens over everything else?

He’s pulled out of his thoughts by a hand on his wrist, physically pulling.

He looks up to Nines expectant looking face. “You coming with?”

Gavin nods silently.

Nines leads him by the wrist back to his room. There’s a suspicious lack of people in the hallway, but Gavin just thanks their luck and keeps going.

He misses a woman peeking around the corner of the kitchen and smiling to herself. He also misses her saying to herself, “Nice, Kara. Self high five. Mission ‘get Nines to bond with his guest’ partially complete. And I didn’t even have to get involved! He just did it himself! I’m so proud.”

As soon as he and Nines enter Nines’ room, Gavin collapses to the ground and holds his tail, which has started bleeding again.

“Fuckin’ OW,” he winces.

Nines doesn’t say a word, just rushes to the bathroom and disappears around the corner. Gavin hears some shuffling, a thud, a little more shuffling, and Nines crowing successfully.

“Got it!”

Gavin looks up from his tail. “What?”

Nines comes out of the bathroom triumphantly. “This.”

In his arms is a large, opaque bin. Gavin can see rolls of wrap inside, bandages, medical tape, a bottle of something clear, a different bottle of something sorta blueish, and scissors. There’s obviously a lot more inside, but he doesn’t get to look closer until Nines sets it down besides Gavin’s bed and waves him over. Gavin whines.

“You’re gonna make me move?”

Nines rolls his eyes. “Come on. Aren’t you a hunter? Trained in battle? Supposedly tough?”

Gavin whines higher. “That’s on the field! When there’s no medical supplies or anyone to _help me up._ But you’re here. So come over here and do it here.”

Nines tsks at him. “Come on, the mattress is like 10 feet from you. Just crawl over.”

Gavin decides to play the petulant child and whines, while waving an arm at Nines. “Nooo, I’m crippled. Pity me.”

Nines stares, unimpressed, at his flailing for about two seconds before pinching the space between his eyes and sighing. “Ugh.”

Gavin internally grins as Nines makes his way over to him and offers him a hand to pull him up with. Gavin takes it and Nines tugs him up, only to heft him over his shoulder and swim back over to the mattress.

“Whaaa??,” Gavin wails. “What the fu- oof!”

Nines roughly plops him onto the mattress and rights himself, looking smug. “There. Not so hard, ey?”

Gavin stares up at him, flabbergasted. “W-what the- what was that?!”

Nines shrugs casually. “Nothing much. I’ve seen some humans do it. They call it the “fireman carry”. Whatever that’s supposed to mean…”

Gavin looks absolutely affronted. “You could have just helped me like a normal mer, y’know sling my arm around your shoulder and gently? Lead me over? Instead of that- that abomination!”

Nines waves him off. “Whatever. It's done now. Lemmie see your tail.”

Gavin smacks Nines hand as it lands on his tail. “No! Explain why you did that thing first!”

Nines looks at him flatly. “Honestly?”

Gavin glares at him. “Yes, honestly, what the fuck else?”

Nines sighs and turns to open the box that held all the medical equipment. “Fine. Honestly, because I thought your shock would be hilarious.”

Gavin glares harder. “Really. Was it worth being yelled at?”

Nines pauses and turns to grin wolfishly at Gavin. “Every second.”

Gavin gulps. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting, especially not that face. Dammit, he’s such a wreck.

Gavin stays silent as Nines tends to his tail. He hisses when Nines wipes something that smells like alcohol across the wound and sighs when he applies pain killing gel. Watches patiently as he wraps a clean white wrap around the entire mess, just snug enough to stay on but not tight enough to be uncomfortable. He flexes his tail, feeling satisfied.

He ignores the small, soft feeling in his chest, which had appeared when Nines had started caring for his wound, more gently than Gavin knew he could ever be.

Nines was like a beam of warm sunlight to bask in, and a tiny cat had curled up in Gavin's chest, purring in the warmth.

Gavin internally cringed. A purring cat? Really?!? He really _was_ getting soft, wasn’t he?

Nines pats the end of his tail. “Ok, done. How’s that?”

Gavin twists his tail, flexes again, and pokes the bandage. “That’s fine.”

He looks up to thank Nines but stops when he really looks at him. Maybe he’s projecting, but the care in Nines’ eyes was so warm...he couldn’t just say ‘fine’ and be done with it.

“I- it’s really good. Thank you,” he stutters.

Nines looks passive, but his eyes look like they’re smiling. Gavin counts that as a success.

“Um, you said food?,” Gavin asks awkwardly. Nice transition, stupid. Totally not clunky at all.

Nines blinks, like he’s shaking something off and rights himself with a flick of his tail.

“Yeah, it's on my desk, hold on.”

Gavin watches as Nines fetches his and Gavin’s plates of food. The rest of the night is quiet. Just the clinking of cutlery on plates, the shuffling of nightly routines being completed and the quiet mumbling of plans for the morning.

The only hiccup is that when Nines is in the bathroom, Gavin leans out the window to gaze out into the ocean. His eyes scan across the land, taking in the sights, when his eyes catch on something familiar.

Lyki?

The little catfish looks up at him from where she had been milling around in the garden and he blinks.

It _is_ Lyki!

The moment she spots him, she’s a flurry of tail heading his way. As soon as she reaches him, she nuzzles up against his cheek, whiskers whirling in happiness.

He giggles- don’t tell Nines- and rubs under her chin.

“Hey, girl. I missed you,” he hums softly. She just whirls her whiskers more.

Suddenly, he remembers. He’s got to write to Echo! His hands wildly scramble across Nines desk for a paper and pen and as soon as they’ve made it into his hands, words are being scribbled onto the page.

He looks down at it. Messy, but readable. He rolls it and tucks it under Lyki’s collar. She nuzzles his cheeks once more and darts away into the night.

He smiles after her, wondering what Echo will write back.

The bathroom door besides him creeks open and he blinks at Nines, who is looking at the open window weirdly.

“Did I leave that open?”

Gavin nods, silent. Was that a flash of a wistful? Now he’s really losing it. Wistful for a window.

Nines hums. “Ok...then….I guess I’ll leave it open again if nothing bad happened…”

Nothing bad? Ok then. Weird.

Just then, Gavin yawns. It's too late to be worrying about stupid things like weird looks shot at windows. Maybe the window is the weird one here.

….yeah, it’s definitely time for bed. He just thought about a window as if it was alive.

Nines wanders past Gavin and flops face first onto his bed. Gavin huffs in amusement. He must be exhausted to have completely given up on getting into bed properly and without etiquette.

Gavin wanders over to his mattress. He’s already gotten ready for bed so the last step is too actually sleep.

If he can. The pain killing gel is wearing off, but hell if he’s going to ask Nines to redo the bandage just for that reason.

Of course, when he actually gets into bed and the lights have been turned off, his eyes remain wide open. His tail aches and he twists around to poke at the bandage again.

Why him?

He flips onto his side. Maybe if he can just find a good angle, it would stop hurting?

He twists again, landing on his back. Then onto his stomach. His side again. Other side, then back because maybe if he tries that side again the result will be different?

It isn’t. His tail still hurts.

He’s about to flip back onto his stomach when he hears Nines growl.

“Dammit, do you not know how to fall asleep like a normal mer? This is the second night in a row.”

Gavin huffs. Nines isn’t very good at compassion when he’s tired, is he?

“Not when I can’t find a comfortable spot that doesn’t make my tail hurt worse. You wouldn’t be able to sleep either.”

Nines scoffs. “Yes I would.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Gavin replies as he flips onto his back again.

Nines growls again. “I swear I will physically hold you down if you don’t stop moving.”

Gavin scoffs. “Ok, sure. As if.”

He shouldn’t have said that.

Nines storms out of bed, picks up Gavin in that stupid fireman carry again, plops him onto the bed, and gets back under the covers, facing away from a now very confused Gavin.

What the _fuck_ just happened.

Gavin stares down at Nines unmoving body under the covers in disbelief.

“Um.”

Nines props himself up on one of his arms and looks over his shoulder at Gavin with a glare.

“Get under the covers already.”

Gavin coughs in shock. “Excuse me?!”

Nines glares daggers at him. “Fucker, I wasn’t joking. So shut up and get under the covers.”

Gavin huffs- real mature move- and tries to get up. But Nines is faster. Gavin suddenly has a arm across his chest shoving him backwards onto the pillows. He blinks in shock.

Nines looks down at him smugly from where he’s hovering above him. “I told you.”

Gavin glares.

Nines glares back and pulls the covers over Gavin, who puts his hands on them to shove them away, but Nines stops him with a single sentence.  
“I swear to Poseidon, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Gavin stops fighting, but he won’t surrender his dignity so easily.

“Really? Who has the fighting experience here?,” he snarks back, sitting up.

Nines, who is getting back under the covers, looks at him like he just said he would take over the world using an army of puppies.

“And who has highly trained guards and knights at my beck and call?”

Ok, that’s not fair.

Gavin huffs and grumps and makes grumbling noises, but lays back down. Sassily, of course though, because he can’t just leave Nines to one-up him like that. He aggressively plops his head back on the pillow and huffs.

He pretends that the only reason he’s staying is because by some miracle, his tail doesn’t ache anymore, under the warm covers. Do they infuse princely covers with healing spells? And he’s certainly not staying because Nines’ bed smells good and is cozy and Nines is warm against his back.

 _Totally not the reason_ , he tells himself as he snuggles deeper under the covers and listens to Nines soft breathing until he’s lulled to sleep. **  
**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that enough fluff for yall? Cuz it feels like a thousand marshmallows just came jumping onto my page riding rainbow ponies and wearing ultra fluffy feather boas with extra sparkles.  
> Just me?  
> ok.  
> Also,  
> Am I being OOC? Yeah, probably. Do i care because twisting their personalities to something more amusing is more fun to write and read? Nope. dont care. Have a soft, trying-to-be-aggressive-and-failing Gavin and awkward-but-hot-when-dominant Nines.


	16. ?ra??n

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *returns without warning* *only gives you like 10 words and a stupid short chapter* haha...hi. I'm alive.

**_Pink friend._ **

**_soft._ **

**_Watch from ice._ **

 

**_Blue?_ **

**_Blue and black. Blinks._ **

 

**_Awake?_ **

**_awake._ **

 

**_AWAKE._ **

 

**_PINK AWAKE._ **

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so first I AM SO SORRY IVE BEEN GONE SO LONG.  
> first i moved out of my parents house, moved away, volunteered at a horse ranch, and was like stupid busy for all the other time. also, chanukah.  
> So I have been crazy busy handling moving, horses, family, holidays, and buying plane tickets for international travel because I work in animal rescue, training, and medical care so Im going around the world through Workaway to places that have educational opportunities so I can broaden my knowledge and experience (of animals, people, other cultures, being an adult and managing finances and healthcare and etc etc etc it just goes on why im doing this.)  
> basically, i'm not sure when i'm going to have time to update a lot. I'm home for the holidays-to pet and house sit and make more money for the airplane tickets- and so while im here ill try to write as much as i can, but i'll be working a LOT so..... idk.


	17. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, emo_dragon_elf. This beginning is for you pal.

Nines is warm.

The room is blurry from behind his eyelashes. His eyes are barely open, letting the glow of the room barely trickle into his sight. He blinks, grasping for a little more clarity of mind, wiping away the drowsiness of sleep.

Not that he wants to, mind. He’s so warm…

He blinks again and waking reality becomes a little more clear. He can see where his window is open, hear the gentle, distant cries of seagulls above the waves, the clicking of maids cleaning in the hallway. Smell the waiting salmon in the kitchen downstairs, and feel the warm covers over him.

He’s so ridiculously warm. Who in their right mind would want to get out of bed when they could stay this warm?

He blinks again, harder to clear the remnants of fuzziness from his eyes.

Why _is_ he this warm?

He looks down to his chest, where some of the warmth seems to be emanating from, as if it were trying to warm his very heart.

Uh. Wait. That’s an arm.

He shuts his eyes tightly. Is he really awake? Or is this just a dream?

He shifts a miniscule amount and the arm around his torso tightens. He gulps. Fuck, he’s totally unprepared for this. He shifts again, trying to twist his hips around so he can see who’s clinging to his back like a koala, but with the tiniest movement the warmth at his back shifts closer and clings tighter.

He’s definitely not dreaming.

So the fact that someone is very much clinging to his back isn’t something he can escape by waking up…..is real.

He cranes his neck around as far as he can to see the top of Gavin’s head, brown hair delicately falling over his forehead. His nose is just barely pressing against the space between Nines shoulder blades and his eyes are softly closed, head tilted forward so that Nines can feel his eyelashes brushing against his back. And he hadn’t noticed it before but….is that a tail draped across his own?

He flushes sapphire. He’s conflicted between ripping himself away and running as far as his tail can carry him- a tail in which is still trapped by Gavin’s own, dear _Poseidon_ his heart is going to explode if it beats any faster- or lay back and bask in the warmth _._ Choices, choices.

He’s about to attempt to move again- how, he doesn’t know. Maybe flip over to be face to face with Gavin? No, no, that’s wayyy to intimate. Hm- when something flickers in his window.

He jolts, much to the dismay of Gavin, who groans and nuzzles closer. Nines could feel the vibration of his voice- and promptly forgets about that when he sees that his window intruder is a friend.

Lyki!

Nines grins and tries to prop himself up on an elbow to greet her. Gavin groans again when he moves too much and tightens his arms around Nines. Nines glares down at him. You wanna be like that, huh? Well, fine.

Nines lays back down- carefully, as to not crush Gavin’s arm- and pats his mattress for Lyki, who is hovering near the window. She twitches her whiskers happily and darts over to him enthusiastically.

“Hey, there,” Nines whispers to her, running a hand down her back. She taps his cheek with an outstretched whisker. He smiles fondly. She’s so adorable.

She curls against his chest and waves her whiskers around his teasing fingers, which are wiggling in front of her face in play. That’s when Nines sees the note.

Carefully tucked under her collar, a rolled piece of paper waits for him. His heart skips. Riverreed!

He reaches for it and as he pulls it from her collar, Gavin shifts against his back. He freezes.

_No, no, stay asleep! Don’t wake up yet!_

He stays frozen for a breathless second even after Gavin has stopped moving. Lyki looks over his shoulder in curiosity and nuzzles against Gavin’s cheek with a passing whisker. Gavin hums, but otherwise doesn’t react and Nines breathes a sigh of relief.

He looks away and back down to the note. Unopened, it looks ordinary, accept...the paper?

_Huh. I have paper just like this. The fancy stuff Connor got me for my last birthday…_

What a coincidence that Riverreed has the same stuff.

He opens it. The pen ink looks just like his favorite pen color as well. Interesting.

Lyki curls up on top of his hip as he reads.

****

**Echo,**

**Wow. Sounds like we had similar nights! I was there at the party as well and oh my skies the kraken was terrifying!!! I thought I was gonna faint. Of course, I have an image and reputation to uphold so I didn’t do that.**

**In terms of that dancer man, I bet I could bet him easy in a dance off. I’m one of the top dancers in Jeiiko!**

**So, I could easily out dance him.**

**Maybe I could be the one to dance with you then. I’ll dance your tail off!**

**If you want.**

**-R**

 

Nines grins, hiding it behind a fist. Is Riverreed jealous? That’s adorable.

In the time that it took to read it, he didn’t notice that Gavin has started to stir more and pull away. Lyki leaps off of Nines hip and back out the window, hitting his hand on the way. The note falls out of his hand and rolls under the bed. Nines doesn't notice, fully occupied with the ruffled looking Gavin in front of him. 

Gavin hums, voice gravely. “Wha’ time izit?”

Nines blinks the blush off his cheeks, sitting up and looking back down at Gavin, who is rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Uh, not sure. Some time in the morning?”

Gavin cracks an eye open and glares at him. Nines feels less threatened and more like he’s being stared down by an angry kitten.

“That’s not very specific,” Gavin hums, eye still narrowed.

Nines raises an eyebrow. “Well, no. I haven’t gotten the chance to check.”

Gavin hums again, rubbing his eyes again. “We need to go out again today. We have that scale, so we know we got close, right?”

Ah, right. The search for Simon and Amanda.

A cold blanket settles on his mind, despite the warmth of the room. He swore to find them. He won’t let them down, even if it means fighting the kraken himself.

The kraken that took his mother, young Alice and Cole, Riverreed’s mother, the queen of Jeiiko,  and countless lives over the years.

Nothing to be scared of, just a giant murderous octopus with super strong armor and a thirst for merfolk blood.

Right.

Nines jolt when a hand lands on his forearm. He looks back and Gavin is looking at him weird.

Is that concern?  
“I can’t actually read your mind y’know. So you have to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Nines is shocked and he blinks. Is his concern that obvious?

Maybe the stones were right. They are soulstones….as much as he doesn’t really believe in the junk, Gavin seems to just click with him.  
“Uh, I’m just thinking about the….dangers. Of this whole thing. So.”

Nines internally cringes. Ugh, feelings.

Gavin hums thoughtfully. “Well, my tail already met those dangers.” He shrugs. “I’m not worried about it. I’m already dedicated to the mission.”

Nines is blown away by how casual he’s being about it, especially after all that whining about his tail last night.

“I didn’t whine that much!,” Gavin grumps at him.

Oops, did he say that out loud?

“Well, whatever,” Nines rolls his eyes, faking nonchalance to cover up his nerves, “either way, I just want to think about this a little more.”

Gavin looks impassive and shrugs, shifting his bandaged tail over the side of the bed in the process of getting out. “Ok, well, you stay here and think as I go and get the hippocampus ready for today.”

Nines stares blankly at him as he lifts himself off the bed and flicks his tail as the bandage shifts.

“Uhm…”

Gavin looks over his shoulder from where he is rustling through his packed bag, rearranging. “What? Are you just gonna lay there and pout at me?”

Nines frowns. “No- I- what? I’m not pouting.”

Gavin chuckles lazily. “It’s cute that you think that, prince. Because you totally are.”

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

“Are _not._ ”

“Are _too._ ”

Nines growls. “Nope.”

Gavin grins. “Yep.”

Nines just huffs. Ok, maybe he’s pouting just a tiny bit.

He looks back to Gavin, eyes roaming his scarred back. Scratches and long lines from past wounds paint across it like a checkerboard.  
Nines is surprised when his voice floats into the room. “Is this mission the biggest mission you’ve ever taken?”

“What?,” Gavin asks absentmindedly.

“Your scars, the ones on your back. Have you done things more dangerous than this?”

Gavin freezes and Nines heart bumps like he missed a stair. Did he push his boundaries?

He’s about to apologize, but Gavin speaks before he gets a chance.

“I…..those are from….”

Gavin turns around, his face resolute. “I used to take jobs that put me in….violent situations.”

Nines feels the stone on his neck turn cold, tentative. Like a single string holding two ends of rope together.

“Jobs?,” he asks slowly.

Gavin nods, and Nines notices how his fingers have come up to his own stone to stroke a comforting thumb over it. Nines can feel a warm swipe echo over his own and clings to the feeling like it's solid ground.

“Yeah, jobs.” Gavin sighs, letting his head fall back to face the ceiling. “Me and North needed the money. She took- well. She took assassination jobs. I took the dirty work. Working for rich scumbags that needed someone to do the heavy lifting or dirty taboo jobs. I was young, so people didn’t suspect me to cause too much trouble. I did, of course- cause trouble- but...they didn’t need to know that.”

Nines sits there in shock. His stone is resonating fear and….regret? Before he really thought, he’s speaking.

“Don’t regret telling me. I’m glad you did, Gavin.”

Gavin immediately looks perturbed and Nines stumbles over himself to explain. Badly explain, of course, because nothing in this situation is easy to explain, why would it be?

“I mean- I could tell because of the stones! I can feel what you- well, sort of- sorry, it’s weird- ugh, I-” He cuts himself off by shoving his face into his hands.

Fuck, he really dug himself a deep grave with this one, didn’t he?

“The stones?” Gavin’s voice echoes from somewhere above him, absolutely bewildered.

Nines groans into his hands. “I thought you knew.”

“Knew what?”

Nines rubs his palms into his eyes before looking at Gavin through his fingers. “They’re telepathic. When you feel a strong emotion, I can feel it too, through the stone. I mean, I can feel that you are feeling it. It doesn’t become my emotion.”

Gavin stares at him with glazed eyes. Shit. That was too much information at once.

“ _That’s_ why they’re called soulstones?!”

Nines cringes at Gavin’s shocked voice as he answers. “I think so, yes.”

He pulls his face out of his hands just soon enough to see Gavin pull off his choker necklace with his stone and put it on Nines desk, looking at it with disgust.

Nines heart feels like it shrivels in his chest, and it stings. Personally, he didn’t mind sharing that information- his emotions- with Gavin. He would mind with anyone else, but he thought it was different with Gavin, and Gavin felt the same comfort.

_I guess I was wrong._

****

…

****

They get ready in tense silence. Nines, as bold as he is supposed to be as a Prince, shys away from Gavin’s gazes and avoids being in close proximity to him.

That’s what Gavin wants, right? Him taking off his stone is proof of that.

It’s probably better this way, anyways.

Nines silently goes through his bag once more, checking that he has everything he needs. Spare food, pen and paper, kraken scale, fluxxshell- Oh. He forgot about that thing. He hasn’t been practicing either, so it's probably useless to him, but….maybe Gavin could use it. It could be a useful tool in the right hands.

Just thinking about the ‘right hands’ makes something in Nines heart squirm and twist like a worm that’s been stepped on. The right hands to hold a mythical, all-encompassing weapon, but not Nines heart.

Nines scowls to himself for being so delicate. He had let his walls down, foolishly, even after telling himself he wouldn’t! And guess what? He got hurt.

A childish mistake to trust this newcomer got him hurt. He had let his emotions run him, but not any more.

It's like an off switch.

He lets a layer of ice crackle across his emotions and lets his face fall into an anonymous middle ground between pissed off and distant.

If Gavin didn’t want him, he wouldn’t have him.  

****

…

****

The next minutes between double checking bags and readying the hippocampi are blurred together by Nines’ thought and dissociation. He keeps himself distracted and busy in his head.

They mount their hippocampus silently, the space between them tense and unstable. Nines doesn’t even turn his head to make sure no one sees them, keeping his coldly narrowed eyes forward. Off of Gavin.

They leave without falter or interruption, so if anyone sees them, they either keep silent about it or don’t care.

Good. Nines can’t be bothered to deal with nosy assholes today.

As they ride off, Nines can viscerally feel the heavy emptiness that is echoing from within his soulstone and into his chest, and an invisible tie to the other soulstone sitting abandoned on his desk. It's as if the emotional sharing pool with Gavin had filled him with emotion fuller than he had ever felt and the loss of it has left him twice as empty. Like an addiction, he can feel the ache in his veins and how it burns.

“We...we’re going to the same place as yesterday, right?”

Nines jolts at Gavin’s quiet hesitant voice behind him and immediately curses himself at the guilty buzz that goes through him in response to Gavin’s timid tone.

“Yes,” he responds with a bland tone, hiding the anger at himself rumbling in his chest from showing in his voice.

Gavin rejected him, whatever. He doesn’t have to act like an asshole about it on top of that.

Gavin clears his voice, clearly picking up on Nines mood. “Ah. Ok then.”

Nines nods to himself, signifying that the conversation is done and they continue to ride in somewhat awkward silence. The only noise between them is the quiet swishing of their hippocampi’s tails and the shifting of the kelp as they push through it.

The distance clicks of dolphins carries through the water and the quiet travel of local fish is background noise like wind.

He glances down to his hands where they grip the reins too tight and frowns. He can’t afford to be this tense now, not when they’re tracking the kraken, the beast that has slaughtered so many of his people. If he gets stuck in his mess of a head, he can’t focus on the mission and keeping Gavin safe.

Wait, no.

He shakes his head a fraction. That isn’t his job, Gavin can take care of himself.

So why does every part of him want to do the job anyway?

His grip on the reins tightens further, and his hippocampus falters somewhat. Gavin makes a confused noise from behind him.

“Why are we slowing? We’re in open water with nothing around us….”.

Nines growls under his breath. “We’re not. I just...moved weird and my hippocampus reacted to it.”

“Oh,” Gavin breathes. “Right.”

He taps his hippocampus to swim on and they start moving faster again. Silence wraps around them again, until Gavin breaks it.

“Uh...what’s your hippocampi’s name?”

Nines eyebrows raise up high. “What kind of question is that?,” he scoffs without looking back at Gavin.

Even without looking, he can tell that Gavin’s face is shaped in between a pout and a scowl.

“A completely valid one, damnit. So tell me.”

Nines ignores the warm joy that blooms in his throat and spreads into his stomach and replies.

“Mine is Abzu.”

Gavin hums. “And mine?”

Nines has to glance back and check who Gavin is riding. Upon turning his head, their eyes meet and electricity bolts through him, zapping his heart into an uneasy pounding. He quickly breaks the eye contact and tells himself that the stutter in his heart is a fluke and means nothing.

“Uh...you’re riding Journey.”

Gavin hums. “That’s pretty literal.”

Nines holds back a chuckle and hums agreement. “Yes, I said the same when Connor named him.”

“Glad we agree on that then,” Gavin says brightly, sounding timidly excited, like a shy fanboy talking to their idol.

Wow, that’s a weird image, especially in their situation. They certainly aren’t in a fanboy-and-idol sort of situation. More like….the relationship between a turtle and the beach. Gavin was a temporary visitor, a very welcome one. But one day- sooner than later- he would leave.

And Nines would be alone again.

He had to close his heart before he got hurt.

But it was so hard to do that with Gavin, who keeps poking holes in the barrier that Nines has built. And even worse, Nines doesn’t mind.

This wasn’t the plan, damnit!

He growls under his breath at himself. Fuck. Why did being weak and having emotions feel so good?!

He’s saved from his emotional turmoil by a ringing wave of sound coming from his bag. He jumps and his hippocampus lurches under him in response.

“What’s wrong?,” Gavin calls forward.

Nines stares down at his left saddle bag with baffled look on his face. “I have no idea,” he calls back and twists around to get a better look.

From within the bag, a vibrating ringing shrills. Not only that, but it’s creating a circle of sound waves, like when a drop of water hits a puddle and spreads wake across the surface.

“What _is_ that?,” Gavin asks with a twisted, equally as confused face as he pulls up to where Nines has stopped to investigate.

“I said, I don’t know.”

Gavin shrugs and reaches an arm sideways into Nines bag without a hint of hesitation. He rustles around, forehead wrinkled in concentration, until his eyebrows twist up in bewilderment. With a firm tug, he yanks the kraken scale out of the bag. It glows as if it's made of opal and the ringing coming from it- from within it?- dulls to a deep rolling thrum...for a moment before going back to the ringing.

Gavin looks somewhere between incredibly fascinated and terrified. “What...what’s it doing? Calling for someone?”

Nines takes the scale from Gavin and holds it out at an arm's length. “Why do you keep asking those questions to _me_? I don’t know! But it probably isn’t good…”

Gavin’s nose scrunches. “Shit. Should we leave it? I don’t particularly want it to lure something to us that wants to eat us.”

Nines doesn’t answer, pondering. He pokes the scale on a particularly shiny part and rubs a single finger over it. It doesn’t do anything but keep singing it’s shrill song. It's making Nines ears ring.

“Nines, make a decision before something hears the damn thing and makes us it's snack.”

Nines curls his lip up in displeasure. He doesn’t want to drop it, it feels important. A stupid part of him almost _wants_ something to find them.

“Let’s hang onto it for a little and see what happens.”

Gavin gawks. “Do you have a death wish?”

Nines shrugs and puts the ringing scale back into his saddle bag, which does little to muffle the ruckus it's making.

“Maybe.”

He turns his back to Gavin and rides off, leaving Gavin and his gaping mouth to catch brine shrimp in his shock.

“Wha- Nines! That isn’t a good joke!”

He doesn’t look back, grinning for the first time after this morning. Did he just make a morbid joke? Yes. Did he just leave Gavin in his dust? Yep. Are they riding toward certain death? Perhaps.

Is the whole situation ridiculous enough to be kind of funny?

To Nines, maybe just a little, yeah.

He urges his hippocampi to go faster. He has no idea where he’s going, but it feels like a good direction, so he just keeps going. Gavin wails behind him for him to slow the fuck down, but he just snarls and goes faster. The ringing scale pulses noise like a heartbeat, stronger and stronger until Nines can feel the waves buzz against his tail, which is nearest to the saddle bag.

Gavin trills something to him, which he ignores. He could be heading towards certain death, nothing is going to stop him from having a bit of fun while he can.

He speeds forward in the deep blue open water, feeling like his entire being is vibrating with adrenaline and emotion. Why now? No clue, but he liked it.

That’s why he was totally distracted enough to almost ram into the two other merfolk that suddenly appeared in front of him. The ringing in his bag abruptly stops, as if it were never there at all.

“Woah!!,” he gasps, instinctually yanking the reins back and making his hippocampus rear and kick before whirling around and skirting around the strangers. Gavin, who was lagging a solid twenty meters behind him, shouts a choice few words of shock forward as Nines realigns himself and turns his hippocampus towards the newcomers, who are staring at him like he’s got two heads and one of them just insulted their mother, grandmother, and pet dog.

“Uh.”

Nines is pulling a blank. Do they know who he is? Is he going to be scolded or forced back to the castle or-

“Sorry, hon, we must have startled you!”

Huh?  
Nines looks up and gets a better look at the strangers.

Both were moray eels, one lime green with a look of tentative curiosity on his face and the other with a long plump white tail with black splotches across it like snowflakes had landed on it and been absorbed into the very pattern of the skin. Attached to the white tail was a plump, dark skinned woman with a warm look in her eyes and a friendly smile across her face.

“Uh, sorry?,” Nines choked. What was happening?

The woman chuckled. “Wow, we really _did_ startle you. My apologies. My name is Rose and this is my son, Adam.”

Nines nodded dumbly. So he isn’t being reported and sent back to the kingdom?

“We were on our way to Kingdom Cylia to sell some of our wares.”

Nines ignores the lurch in his stomach- crap, if this lady, Rose, mentions that she saw him he was totally in trouble- and quirks an eyebrow. “Are you merchants?”

Rose smiles, her rosy cheeks adding cheer and brightness to her already bright face until she was practically glowing like a friendly star.

“We are indeed! We also heard that there was a couple of scientists that were doing some research on sound barriers in their sister kingdom and wanted to offer our tools.”

Nines eyebrows shoots up. Simon and Amanda!

“You’ve heard of our scientists?”

Rose hums confirmation. “Our kingdom’s scientist- Daniel- speaks often of his cousin Simon. I suppose scientists have a way of communication across such great distances.”

“Which kingdom do you come from?”

“Musutafu.”

Nines had never heard of any such kingdom by name, but he has heard stories of a mighty king who rules with a grand smile in a kingdom far off in the sea. Perhaps it's that kingdom.

Either way, it doesn’t change his situation.

“I regret to tell you that our scientists have been….well, kidnapped.”

Rose and Adam’s eyes both grow wide and Gavin frowns deeply from where he hovers behind him.

“Who kidnapped them? Is there a mer we should be watching out for?,” Adam asks with a anxious quiver to his voice.

Nines matches Gavin’s frown. “Ah, no. They were taken by the kraken.”

While Adam’s eyes just about pop out of his head in shock, Rose simply frowns and taps a thumb to her chin.

“A kraken, hm? We used to have one of those...,” Rose starts, palm over her mouth in thought muffling her words.

Nines’ heart sinks like a rock in water. There’s more than one kraken? So even if they vanquish the one they have now, a different one could simply come and take its place?

“However, ours didn’t have a habit of taking people,” Rose finishes.

Nines raises an eyebrow. “What did it do, take your crops? Destroy the buildings? Terrorize the people?”

Rose chuckles. “No, none of those! It was quite friendly. Akin to a gentle whale, she would accompany us to and fro, help with hunting, and the like. Goodness, imagine a purposefully violent kraken.”

What?

Gavin spoke up from where he hovered by Nines side. “What do you mean?”

Rose smiles softly. “Well, kraken- from what we understand of them- are naturally social creatures. They make for fantastic life companions. Our kraken- Ymir- was a gentle giant.”

Rose’s smile fades a shade and she crosses her arms. “However….we have heard stories of lone krakens. Away from society and others, they may grow aggressive and desperate for attention, even if it is negative.”

Nines narrows his eyes as he concentrates on her words. “So…..what you’re saying….”

Gavin reaches the same conclusion at the same time and speak in sync.

“The kraken is lonely?”

Rose nods, her eyes soft as they sweep across them both as they come to an understanding.

“Who isn’t these days?”

Nines and Gavin’s heads turn to look at each other and as their eyes meet, both of their faces flush blue.

Rose smiles, plump cheeks puffing. “Everyone gets lonely, even the coldest of hearts.”

Nines chest warms with something he can’t identify and a part of him aches to be able to share it with Gavin through the stones, even though Gavin took his off.

_Everyone gets lonely._

_And then I found you._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How Nines reacted to the sort of rejection and why it was so flip floppy is because I headcanon him as having ADHD and (since I have it and have experienced it) adhd brains feel emotion more strongly- so higher highs and lower lows- and rejection is the same. It's called RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria) and it seriously sucks. so yeah theres my headcanon¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> thanks for reading yall!!! Means a lot.  
> Ready? I’m going to be a pain in the ass.  
> If you enjoy my writing and have a buck or two to spare- would you mind donating to me? I’m currently traveling and working at various animal rescues and shelters, wildlife reserves, and travel is hella expensive. 
> 
> Here:  
> https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=JPN7GNTHNDN4W
> 
> Also- if any of you caught the names of the hippocampi: Abzu and Journey- nice!!! Those games are some of my absolute favs. Especially Abzu--it, along with Moana, partially inspired this fic. So yeah, really great games (and movie)  
> Cool, i'm gonna shut up now.  
> See you next chapter!


	18. Gavin

Seeing the marvel and emotion on Nines face as their eyes are locked almost makes Gavin wish that he had kept his choker and soulstone on; to be able to share that emotion with Nines. 

But the moment the thought tears through his mind, he shuts it down like an owner slamming down a kennel door on a bad dog. 

_ This _ is exactly why he took that damn necklace off and he isn’t changing his mind about it. 

The affection shit. The wanting to get closer. Just the ‘want’ in general.

He would rather swim into an active volcano that have Nines feel the…..whatever the fuck emotions Gavin has regarding him. 

Gavin internally slaps his own wrist. So what if he blushed a little too much around the prince? He’s attractive. Plenty of other merfolk find him attractive too. It's just natural to find someone so handsome casually attractive. 

_ Casually attractive? Like being attracted to him is a side hobby?? I wish….maybe I would be able to get him out of my head if that were the case.  _

And his stupid cheeks inadvertently blushing whenever Nines laughs is just a coincidence.

_ Total coincidence, really! _

Gavin is the one to break eye contact, looking down to wear his hands cradle the reins of his hippocampus. He can still feel Nines eyes on him, but he pretends that his reins are oh so amazingly fascinating and doesn’t indulge his want to look back. 

“So, uh. What do we do about our kraken then? Because it isn’t friendly like yours,” Nines coughs awkwardly after Gavin’s eye contact rejection, “And it's got our scientists.”

Rose’s eyebrows furrow. “I’m not sure about how to handle  _ it _ , but I know someone who could potentially help you find it- and the scientists.” 

Both Nines and Gavin lean forward in interest. Rose’s eyebrows raise a fraction in surprise. 

“A long time friend lives in the deep waters near here. He has a vast range of skills, when you ask the right questions.”

That last piece makes Gavin trip. “Right questions? What, is he sour about helping people or something?” Rose’s smile disappears and is replaced with a mournful frown. “No, he has a lot of trauma and cannot speak very clearly due to brain damage.”

Gavin’s mouth closes with a snap. Oops. Way to be insensitive. 

Nines barely looks sideways. “So, when we meet this...friend of yours, how do we ask the right questions?”

Rose gives him a pleased smile. “Simply talk to him calmly, asking for his assistance. He loves his work and is just as brilliant as he was before his accident. He just has a harder time communicating that. Be patient with him, and you’ll be just fine.”

Gavin nods subtly to himself, soaking up the information. He doesn’t notice when Nines glances sideways at him with a proud eye before turning his attention back to Rose. 

“Anything else you think we need for your friend?”

Rose hums at Nines’ question. “Well….yes. You need a kraken scale.”

Nines raises an eyebrow. “Uh, ok? That’s-”

Rose laughs, cutting him off. “Don’t worry, we can help you find them! We collect scales and sell them back in our kingdom, so we have a tracker.”

Nines shakes his head and flounders for words for a moment before stuttering out, “But, you see, we already have one.”

Rose’s pleasant smile morphs into something across between stunned and bewildered. “You do?”

Nines nods hesitantly. “Yes? What’s so surprising about that?”

Rose places her hands on her hips. “Well, our tracker should be responding to it then. Where is it?”

Nines points to his bag. “In there. It was ringing just before I nearly ran into you and Adam.”

Rose raises an eyebrow, looking impressed. “Ah, so it already answered our tracker. That’s interesting though, it should be still responding since it hasn’t been touched to the tracker….”

Her eyes widen. “Wait. Unless….”

She moves closer to the bag that the scale resides in. “May I see it? I might know why it’s quiet.”

Nines nods, looking mystified. Gavin tenses as Rose’s face twists more and more. 

He lets words tumble out in his anxiety. “Is something wrong?” 

Rose shakes her head slowly. “No, I don’t think so….however, I’ve only had one other scale respond to our tracker like this before.”

The ball of anxiety in Gavin’s gut winds up tighter. “When was that?”

Rose doesn’t answer, only reaches further into Nines bag for the scale. 

Her face brightens when she finds it and she takes hold of it. As soon as she pulls it out of the bag and inspects it, she sucks in a breath. 

“Just as I thought….a Teller.” 

Gavin raises an eyebrow. “A what?”

Rose grins at him. “A Teller. It….y’know what, I’ll just show you.”

She holds her hand out to Nines and he looks at it like it spit in his food. Rose rolls her eyes and reaches up. As soon as she has a hold of his hand, the edges of the red scale light up with with light, making it look like electric gold is lining it.

She turns to Gavin and holds her hand out as she did with Nines. Gavin hesitantly places his hand in hers and the scale hums, the lining turning from gold to a deep navy blue shimmer. Rose murmurs, contemplating. 

Gavin catches Nines eye and quirks an eyebrow in nonverbal communication. Nines shrugs back. Gavin blinks down at Rose, who is still looking back and forth between the scale and the light that now dances in it's edges. 

Gavin jumps when a voice from in front of them hesitantly speaks up. 

“Mom, can I try something?”

Gavin looks up to see Adam, Rose’s son, flicking his eel tail with nerves. The look on his face says something different however. Pure determination. 

Rose blinks. “Are you sure?”

Adam nods firmly. “I think I’m right about this.”

Rose drops Gavin’s hand and her hold on the scale. The glow dims immediately, returning to gold. 

Gavin looks at the two in confusion. “What exactly is the use of this?” 

Adam clears his throat. “As my mother said, we’ve seen only one scale react this way before. That occasion is widely talked about in our kingdom. If this is the same….”

Adam drops his gaze. “It could mean a lot, ok?”

Gavin mulls over his words but shrugs. “Ok, I guess.” 

Adam clears his throat again. “Right. So, um. Please move your hippocampi closer together so that you are parallel to each other. So you can both have your hands on the scale at the same time.”

Gavin and Nines’ eyes meet again, both of their faces painted with confusion. But when Nines shrugs and starts moving his hippocampus, Gavin copies. 

They end up with their hippocampi lined up side by side, but with their heads facing the opposite directions. 

“Uh…”

Adam waves his arms for their attention. “Perfect!”

Gavin scoffs. This looks very odd, but whatever. He’ll go with it for a little longer.

Adam calls to them. “Ok, now, um, Nines! Reach your arm out into the center. The one holding the scale.”

Nines raises an eyebrow but obeys. Adam nods once and takes a deep breath. He’s shivering when he lets it out and bubbles float up around his head.

“Ok. Ready, Gavin?”

_ Ready for what? _

“I….guess? What-”

Adam cuts him off. “Just- reach out and grab the scale. And hold on no matter what.”

Gavin’s eyebrows raise until they can’t raise any more. Wow, in the history of sentences, that ending is never a good thing. No matter what? What, is the scale going to bite him or something?

But he’s curious so he slowly and hesitantly reaches out and grabs the scale. He’s immediately reminded of his and Nines engagement night, when he reached out into the center. From the look on Nines face and how he’s locked eyes with Gavin, he’s thinking the same.

The scale edges glow once again, gold to navy blue. The glow is steady for a moment, until the electric line shutters and breaks, glow fading. 

For reasons he doesn’t understand, Gavin is disappointed. It's a feeling like having to spend new years night sick in bed, hearing the excited cheers and bountiful laughter just outside the door accompanied by the pop of fireworks, but not being able to participate. 

Just as he’s about to drop his hand from the scale, the entire thing bursts to life with a thrumming glow, amber orange starting from the center of the plate sized scale and spreading like a wave outwards. 

Gavin and Nines gasp, feeling the intense warmth emanating from the scale like a hot coal. As hot as it feels though, it doesn’t burn. 

Gavin’s eyes widen as he stares at the scale as it illuminates a wide radius around them. He meets Nines eyes and sees how his chest is rising and falling so fast, he’s just about panting. Just as Gavin is about to open his mouth to ask if he’s ok, the scale lets out a wail like a whale’s call. 

Gavin lurches away from it but keeps his hold on it regardless. 

He can’t let go. Not now.

Adam and Rose are staring wide eyed at them as the scale bellows noise. 

As soon as the glow began, it flicks off, plunging them into darkness. 

Time feels frozen, anticipation growing like a cloud until……

A thunderous crashing erupts from the scale, like a star exploding. Green and orange lightning bolts out of seemingly nowhere, gold sparks following them. The colors abruptly switches to golden snakes of light slithering between blooming aqua blue pulses echoing outwards, like the ripple that a stone leaves when thrown into a lake. 

The colors fold into pure white light twisting up from the scale and spiraling around Gavin and Nines arms like grape vines. 

Gavin’s breath is coming in pants and his heart feels like it's to hammer out of his chest. The white vines twist further up his arm, growing and reaching until it reaches out for his neck. 

He stops breathing. 

It taps his adam’s apple, where his soulstone once laid, and he sees white.

Images flick across his vision like an old fashion movie sped up times ten.

Images of a smiling face and blue eyes, laughing.

A silver crown, beautiful and comforting for reasons he doesn’t understand. 

A small golden circlet around a finger, filling him with something overwhelmingly bright.

The flick of a lionfish tail twisting around a tiger shark one, burning hot in his mind. 

A tiny seed of something, a spark, twisting and nestling in his chest.

A child’s hand, reaching, grasping empty water until an adult hand reaches back and immediately has a tiny fist clamped around one of the fingers.

Something - something - something- a feeling so warm it envelopes him entirely and squeezes until he feels glass tears cascade down his cheeks. 

And then-

Black.

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooops that was kinda short. Short but intense though!!   
> So a little info- krakens are magical creatures, but only have a low level of magic. For example, they only ever produce one Teller scale. No one knows why or how (aka i didnt write lore that deep, it would be a pain to explain smoothly without absolutely slowing the story).
> 
> Theres a little bit of lore coming up next chapter though, so keep your eyes peeled for that! I mean, it's written into the story, so you dont actually have to look for it...ah, ive made this confusing.   
> (also maybe i just possibly did a mini crossover. Dont worry about it too much. ….unless you get it. Or like the show. Or like the particular ship. Or dont, let me know. Sry in advance? Idk. It's like 3am Ive got to sleep.


	19. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The after shocks of that last crazy chapter! Lots for the guys to think about...
> 
> Also!!! Yall need to see this!!!  
> [AMAZING FANART](https://twitter.com/Ysahiro_Tarasin/status/1082815961672093696/photo/1)  
> Give this amazing dear some love for this! I love it so much I'm kinda freaking out (╯°□°)╯︵ Thank you, Estetisk!!

Nines coughs, gasping in air through his gills as his eyes flicker back open as the white fades.

When had he closed them?

The blinding white and the images are gone. Were they ever really there at all?

His head whips sideways to Gavin, heart jumping in his throat when his eyes landed on him.

Shivering, with green glass tears on top of his hands, the same ones grasping the reins and the scale. 

The scale. 

Nines looks at his own hand, extended out into the space between him and Gavin, clamped onto the other side of the scale from Gavin.

Nines twists and places a hand on Gavin’s. Gavin shutters and snaps upwards, eyes locking with Nines. Nines freezes. 

The fire in Gavin’s eyes isn’t like he’s ever seen. Desperate, wild, and lost. 

“Um….Gavin?,” Nines breathes, sure that his words only reach Gavin and not Rose and Adam, who are watching with eyes wide as saucers. 

Gavin shutters a breath and gulps. “Y-yeah. I’m here.”

Nines feels his own breath break and continue. The raw emotion and relief in Gavin’s voice is something that sends a spear of unwarranted affection through his gut and he almost sinks off his hippocampus in the wake of his strong response. 

“Good. That’s really good, I’m glad.”

Gavin smiles, soft, and it feels private. Like it’s special for Nines. 

They adjust their hippocampus so that they are side by side, facing the same direction. The scale is cradled safely in Nines hand as he uses one hand to steer his steed. He flicks his eyes over at Gavin and finds eyes gazing quietly back at him. He fights down the impulse to reach out and take Gavin’s hand.

Did they share those images? It felt like they were dancing together, their fingers and voices twisting together to make one, and yet it felt like they were separated by miles of cloudless sky. 

The world had been empty accept for them. 

Gavin opens his mouth and that’s when Nines realizes he’s been staring at his lips. He blushes and turns his head away as Gavin talks to Rose.

“So, that was…...an experience. What exactly just happened?,” Gavin asks with his head tilted and eyebrow quirked. 

Rose clears her throat. “Well, a scale is used in royal engagements, in our kingdom. Something like this has only happened once before though.”

Gavin raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Adam speaks up from besides Rose. “Our king’s son, the prince. His successor.”

Gavin nods slowly, looking confused. “And…?”

Rose rolls her eyes when Adam doesn’t continue. “And that prince was tested with a Teller scale, on accident. We didn’t know it was a Teller. It was a part of his crown.”

Gavin waves a hand impatiently. “Ok,  _ and?”  _

Rose sighs at his impatience. “I’m getting there. As a young boy, he had a friend. However, this friend was not a citizen of the kingdom: he belonged to the tribe of the coral forest. A tribe that the kingdom had struggled with for a long time over territory and resources. So they had to meet in secret. 

They grew up together, sneaking off to goof off and hang out, and all was well. Until one day when they were older and at engagement age.  Our prince had a royally arranged engagement to a different prince, from the Endeavour kingdom in the arctic.”

Rose drops her head. “Those days were filled with such violence between the tribe and the kingdom. Of course, the prince’s friend was putting up a fight and as the chief’s son, he had influence on their battles. Chief Mitzuki and our king saw absolutely nothing eye to eye.”

Nines is torn between wanting to go and finish their mission, and wanting to hear the end of the story.

…..The want to hear how the story ends wins out, for now. 

How this story connects to his own, he doesn’t know...but it sounds familiar. 

He tunes back in to what Rose is saying. 

“The day that the wedding was scheduled was a dark one. Storm clouds had blocked out the sun and the water was murky from the recent battles.”

Nines leans closer, now fully absorbed in the story. Wow, Rose was a good storyteller. 

“Prince Izuku- our prince- was swimming up the aisle, sea dragon tail dragging behind him. The crown upon his head has had the Teller scale crafted into it, and is glowing a very faint green but when he reaches the end and takes the hands of the prince he was going to be married to, the glow cuts abruptly.”

Gavin and Nines remain silent, enraptured. Rose suddenly throws her arms out dramatically and they both gasp. 

“Suddenly the doors are bust open, and in the doorway, is the chief’s son. In all his glory, Katsuki, in his red robes, necklaces, and fighting arm sleeves. His orange and red tail is flared like an explosion behind him, as a beta fish warrior. He has whips in hand and his hands are practically sparking with how tight his fists are.”

Gavin and Nines are now internally cheering for this prince and chief’s son, even though they don’t know them. They don’t even mind the fact that they got sidetracked from their mission. 

“Prince Izuku immediately leaves the arctic prince and rushes to Katsuki. As soon as they embrace, the crown glows amber and green lightning erupts from it.”

Amber and lightning?

Nines recalls the amber glow and green lightning that came from the scale when he and Gavin held it before it changed to gold and blue and took different forms. “So- the orange and green that our scale produced...is from them?”

Rose nodded, grinning. “Yes! Which is fantastic. You see, as that happened, the kingdom realised that they were bigger than just two rebellious kids. They were a destined duo, with their souls tied together before they were even born. They have changed our kingdom, and through them, they have also changed the arctic kingdom. That arctic kingdom has ties with humans and has therefore changed the humans as well. The whole world will feel the ripple of them. And…”

Rose grins wider, her next words said with absolute surety. “The world will feel your echo as well.”

The water feels as if it has turned to air around Nines, sucking all the moisture out of his skin. 

Three….two….one.

“Both of us?!”

“But we’re only-”

“We’re not really together-”

“Those two from your story sound like they’ve got some real history-”

“Me and Nines don’t, I mean, I’m just a dancer-”

“And this, this thing- y’know, it's only temporary and-”

“It's not forever! That’s just a daydream!”

“Wait, what?”

“Huh?”

Nines and Gavin stare at each other in shock. Gavin clears his throat. 

“Whatever I just said, forget I said it.”

Nines looks at Gavin sideways with narrow eyes, doubtful. 

Rose watches them, part amusement and part shock.

“So then….,” she starts, blinking when their eyes snap back to her, “You’re Prince Nines, aren’t you dear?”

Nines immediately forgets what Gavin said as his heart jumps into his throat, making it feel like he swallowed a frog. “Oh- I, uh-”

Rose laughs. “Calm down, hun. You aren’t in trouble.”

Nines swallows the metaphorical frog. “I’m not?”

Rose shakes her head. “No, I’m not sending you back to the kingdom- or telling any soldiers. You’re on a mission, and who am I to get in the way of that?”

Nines lets his shoulders fall in relief, his tense muscles from a second ago relaxing. He huffs a relieved breath, hand to his chest. “Thank you.”

Rose nods. “Of course.” She turns to Gavin. “You keep him safe. You both have a long path ahead of you.” She glances back at Nines. “And you keep him safe as well.”

They both nod, humbled by how serious she got. Like she knows the ending of the story. Of their story.

Because apparently this is an ‘Us’ thing now. Great.

Nines isn’t sure if that great is sarcastic or not. 

The churning in his gut says yes, but the butterflies cluttering up his brain say no. 

Ugh, feelings. 

Gavin pinches the bridge of his nose with a scowl. “This has been... _ lovely _ and all, but we really need to get back on the road. So, where is your friend?”

Rose clicks her tongue. “Ah, yes. He’s hard to miss….you know the glow caves where the flying fish congregate?”

Nines’ heart skips a beat on sheer impulse. That’s where he goes to sing, when he has time. The caves echo so nicely, but if he had known that someone lived near there and could potentially hear him, he would have never gone there in the first place. 

Shit, has this friend of Rose’s heard him before!? His heart feels like it’s shriveling in his chest.

Rose continues, oblivious to his panic. “If you follow the row of pink coral going to the left, you’ll find his den. Knock on the clear stone directly outside- it will alert him that someone is there and that you are friendly. Then you just have to wait.”

Nines internally sighs in relief. He knows of the pink coral. It leads away from the echoing caves, so he’s probably safe. 

“I know of the caves and the pink coral. We’ll make it. Thank you.”

Gavin looks sideways at Nines with confusion, but stays quiet. 

Rose smiles fondly. “Good. I’m glad.” 

Her tail moves like a ribbon as she approaches Gavin for a hug goodbye. “Stay safe. Take care of each other.” 

She reaches for Nines and he meets her in the middle. Her hug is warm and motherly, a feeling that he hadn’t felt for a long time. When she lets go he’s left wanting another hug, just to feel that protective motherly warmth again. 

But no. They’ve already used up enough time. 

Rose pats his arm. “Stay safe, dear. The world awaits you.” Her head turns to look at Gavin, who is tending to his hippocampus and petting it's neck with a smile. “It waits for both of you.”

She looks back up at Nines, directly into his eyes, and lowers her voice to a whisper. “And I know it is scary to welcome someone into your heart, and is scary to be vulnerable. But trust him, and trust your feelings. He will not leave you. He is simply waiting for you to show him you are ready to open your heart to him.”

Nines’ eyes widen. “How-”

Rose laughs quietly. “It is obvious in how you act. And I have seen it many times over and can recognise it. However, your case is slightly more…..intriguing than others I have seen. The only other I have seen like this was between the prince and his friend. And you already know that story.”

Nines nods, stunned. He wasn’t supposed to be important, he’s just a prince. 

But….he wouldn’t mind being able to make a difference. A good difference for his people and all other merfolk. And apparently humans as well. 

He certainly wouldn’t mind if Gavin was there with him, making his own difference as well. 

Partners. 

Nines can’t help but smile at the thought. 

“Thank you, Rose. For everything.”

Rose smiles knowingly. “Of course. And it was a honor to experience your and Gavin’s Telling.”

Nines nods, not fully understanding her gratitude but happy anyway. He’s still very much confused on the “Telling” as well, but he’ll think about it later. 

He’ll also think about how something has changed between him and Gavin. Granted, they just potentially had their minds connected and flashes of their future shown to them by a magic scale, so anyone’s relationship would change if that happened. 

Gavin clears his throat and gestured with his head that it was time to go. Nodding, Nines smiles at Rose one last time and turns his hippocampus around. 

They have to find her friend- and while their little “Teller” experience and Rose’s story was very informative and kept his rapt attention….they really had to be on their way. Simon and Amanda were still out there, and still needed help. 

As they ride away with a new sense of purpose- and way less tension between them- Rose informs them that she and Adam will be in the Jeiiko kingdom waiting for their return, and to stay safe. 

With the kind words at their backs, they split the water in their way and rush forward for the glow caves.

They ride in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the smoothness of the water and the echoes of the images and emotions that the Telling scale projected into them. 

Which makes Nines wonder….did Gavin see the same things as he did? And with those things apparently being their future, together, they should probably suck up their fear and talk about it like the mature adults they are.

Or, well, try to be.

Nines clears his throat. “So, uh. Just to clear things up- and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to- but...when the scale put those things into our minds...did you see the same things as me?”

Gavin raises an eyebrow. “How would I know? I can’t read your mind.”   
Nines cringes. That wasn’t the response he was aiming for, but then again he really could have phrased it better. Second try.

“I- ah. Ok, so what I meant was, what did you see? And, if you want, what did those images- ah, what emotions did the images bring with, that is?”

Gavin is looking at him like he’s got two heads and one of them just turned into a otter’s. “Uh….”

_ Shit, wrong! Retreat, abandon mission, I screwed up! _

Nines flounders for a moment. “I mean! You don’t have to say-”

Gavin glared at him and he immediately shut up, swallowing anymore words before they jump out of his mouth like a poorly timed surprise party.

_ What a change of character, me, it's totally not obvious that I’m nervous.  _

Gavin sighs. “Alright, look. I...don’t really know what I saw. Well, I have some idea, but it's - they’re-” He cuts himself off with a growl, chewing on his own lip in frustration.

Nines stomach twists. “Don’t force yourself…..”   
“I’m not, just gimme a minute!,” Gavin snaps. Nines flinches and looks in the opposite direction. 

Do not bother him. Got it. 

Gavin remains silent for a long moment before beginning to softly speak. “I...think I know what I felt though. With the….experiences.”

Nines dares to look sideways at him. Gavin is looking down at his hands again, but his face is clear and calm. Nines would believe him to be absolutely unaffected if not for the shake in his hands or how his thumb is rubbing against his pointer finger in an effort to bring comfort to himself. 

Nines clears his throat again as a force of anxious habit. “What...what experiences?”

Gavin falls quiet again and, with a sinking feeling, Nines thinks he scared him off again. 

Until Gavin speaks with a fond softness like Nines has never heard. 

“Like….the laughter. And the comfort of the silver crown.”

Silver crown? The one specifically reserved for the precious betrothed of a prince...Nines feels like his throat has a balloon swelling in it. 

Gavin carries on. “Like the…..ring. The gold ring around a finger….”

Nines heart skips like a stone across water. He remembers that in his head...the incredible light, the overflowing happiness. It had nearly choked him.

“Um.” Gavin scowls to himself, blushing blue. “Ah- well. My tail.”

Nines cocks his head. What’s so special-

Gavin blushes deeper, almost navy. “And -  _ erg  _ \- yours. Ehem, uh, wrapped around. Mine. That is.”

Nines immediately understands why Gavin is blushing and flushes deep blue himself. 

Them? Doing- wow. Uh. Doing?  _ That _ ??

As it sinks deeper into his mind, he flushes darker. Especially after realising that he wouldn’t actually be opposed to the idea. 

He just about slaps himself right then and there as soon as the thought bounces cheerfully into his mind, like it wasn’t dirty and distracting and  _ what the fuck now he’s thinking about it. _

Nines forces himself to respond like a mature adult, especially as his brain goes places that are a far bit past just mature.

“Oh-”, it comes out squeaky and he pinches himself as he clears his throat. “Well, any- anything else?”

Gavin dares to glance sideways at him and blushes as soon as he does. This is going about as well as a train wreck. 

Gavin clears his throat as well, fond smile returning and strengthening to something that beams across his face and makes his cheeks rise and eyes crinkle, remembering the emotion that came with it.    
“I...can’t really describe it? But…,” he covers his grin with a palm, fighting the broad teeth baring grin back into a wobbly lip smile. “Did you see...someone else?”

Nines quirks an eyebrow, wracking his brain. Someone else? Another mer? A-

It hits him like a freight train. 

A tiny hand, and high pitched giggles filling a nursery.

He remembers how the pure raw emotion had ripped through him during the Telling, leaving him dizzy and high on happiness. 

He’s suddenly fighting his own grin for reasons unknown. He doesn’t even like children that much! So why-

“Yes, I remember. We might have slightly different views of it, but yes.”

Gavin gulps and looks at him like he’s measuring whether he should trust him or not. “What did you see?”

Nines coughs into a fist. “Oh- uh. I saw...a child’s-” he nearly chokes on the word as it comes out of his mouth and into the open and he notices how Gavin’s breath stutters for a moment. “A child’s hand. And I heard giggling, from within a nursery.” The word also sends his heart bouncing. 

Gavin nods. “Oh.... I saw the child’s hand reaching up, from within a crib, I think, and an adult hand reaching back. They, uh, the child grabbed the adult’s finger and held onto it. So, a parent, probably?”

Nines hums. Ok, this conversation is happening. “What...who was the adult whose hand it was?” 

Gavin shrugged. “I’m not sure. But, if I were to guess, uh-” 

They both know the answer, especially considering the other images were revolving around them. Neither say it out loud, for both of their sakes and the sake of their hearts, which are both working on overdrive.

“You think-?”

“Maybe. Maybe.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah.”

Nines falls silent again, mulling it over. 

Ok, he says mulling, but really he’s trying to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest with party poppers, wearing a sparkly hat that plays the macarena while brandishing a disco ball like a confetti bomb, ready to either celebrate or explode from emotion. He doesn’t particularly want either, so he breathes deeply and lets it out slowly. 

Breaking himself out of his life-changing-revelation mentality- or, rather, forcing into the back of his mind so he doesn’t have a minor breakdown- , he looks around and takes in the surroundings. Coral towers high and kelp higher, fish flitting in and out and around the calmly waving green of the kelp. 

Nines is beginning to recognise the general area and tilts his head to Gavin for him to follow. Gavin quirks an eyebrow, but follows without hesitation. They make like the fish and weave between kelp and coral, scanning the area as they continue on their way.

Nines slows as the kelp becomes less common and more patchy, keeping his eyes open for the specific pink coral that grows in mass around the glow caves. 

As soon as he spots a tiny bloom of pink, his eyes snap up from where they had been grooming the seafloor for the pink. As soon as he looks up, he’s greeted with a tall, jagged cliff with an opening by the top. 

The glow caves. 

Nines calls back to Gavin. “These are the glow caves, here. So the person’s place is pretty close.”

Gavin makes a noise of recognition and Nines takes it as a sign to move forward, skirting around the base of the cliffs now that he knows exactly where he is. 

He immediately spots the row of pink coral and heads for it. It outlines a clear path, clean sand with nothing growing on the path.

Nines blinks in pleased surprise. For someone who sounds like a recluse, this person sure has a obvious road leading to their home. 

Eh, makes their lives easier. 

“It’s here, Gavin.”

Gavin doesn’t respond and Nines twists his neck to look back at him. 

As soon as his eyes land on Gavin, his heart leaps. Struck by sun trickling through the waves, his face is tilted up towards the caves. Nines can see the tendons in his neck pop out as he turns his head to get a better look at the cliffs. 

Something stupid in his brain tells him to kiss Gavin’s neck. He tells the totally ill timed idea to fuck off. 

_ We aren’t like that! Plus, rescuing friends, remember?! _

Until Gavin rubs the back of his neck from the strain of looking directly up and a thumb brushes his a collar bone. 

Nines mentally slaps himself when he wants to kiss that too. 

_ Stupid, Nines, you’re digging yourself into a hole.  _

“Y’know….I think I’ve been over these before.” 

Nines snaps out of it when Gavin speaks up. 

“Huh?”   
Gavin meets his confused eyes. “I said, I think I’ve been over these before.”

Nines almost rolls his eyes. “Yeah, but how do you know?”

Gavin looks back up at them. “I was hunting near them and had gotten hurt. The blood was in my face, so I had to stop until it stopped bleeding.”

Nines quirks an eyebrow. “In your face?”

Gavin nods. “Yeah. See this scar across my nose? That’s that.”

Nines hums in understanding. “How did you….”

Gavin paused and coughed into a fist. “Ah...I may have been chasing a stingray and it whipped it's tail across my face.”

Nines blinks. Blinks again. Then snorts, trying to hold back laughter. “Oh, so mister ‘expert hunter’ was playing a stupid game and got what was coming for him, huh?”

Gavin scowls at him. “Oh, screw off. It was fun! And it was a good meal after.”

Nines chuckles. “Ok, sure.”

Gavin tsks at him and waves him off with a hand. “Whatever. Point is, I had to stop here. And when I stopped, I heard something. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”

Nines looks at him expectantly. 

Gavin smiles at the memory. “I heard singing from inside the caves.”

The smile drops off of Nines face like a rock. Shit, did Gavin hear him?

Gavin is oblivious to his sudden feeling of dread, lost in his memory. “It was echoing and a little distorted because of the caves, but, I mean…”

Nines gulps. 

“It was probably some of the most beautiful I’ve heard.”   
Nines reels back in confusion. Gavin thought-? 

Gavin dips his head. “I just wish I could hear it again.” 

Nines turns away from him, swallowing the bubble in his throat. Thoughts, foolish thoughts, were flooding his mind: thoughts of how maybe he  _ could  _ sing for Gavin, one day-

_ No!! He would think I’m...weird. Singing isn’t very royal… _

But Gavin never cared about Nines being ‘royal’, or acting proper. And what exactly was holding Nines back?

_ I don’t want to lose him if he doesn’t like that part of me. _ _   
_ Nines gulps, the epiphany bowling him over. He decides he won’t risk it.

Yet.

“Wow, that sounds nice.”

Gavin snaps his head towards him with a raised eyebrow. “Y’know, potassium is a very nice element.”   
Nines eyebrows shot up. “Huh?”

Gavin rolls his wrist, hand almost vogeing through the water. “Very reactive.”

Nines tilts his head. “O..kay?”

Gavin tilts his head as well, but instead of looking confused, he looked unimpressed. “Unlike that reaction you just gave.” 

Nines stares blankly at him for a second. “Did you just…”   
Gavin grins. “Yep! I did.”

“That was a horrible joke.”

Gavin nods. “That was the point. Well, no, it wasn’t entirely. The point was to get you out of your head so you would pay attention and tell me why you just gave me that lame excuse for a response.”

Nines blinks. “Uhh….”

The smug, confident look fades from Gavin’s face and he looks down. “And, uh. I’ve also been thinking that between the soulstone things pairing us up and that weird….the visions of the future- of our future- we probably should be talking more. Or making an attempts to- ugh, shit, sorry. I mean, I’m not trying to force anything, but-”

Nines’ eyes widen at Gavin’s stumbling words. With an invitation like that...I didn’t really make sense to keep his thoughts inside. If Gavin is asking him….does he still have to be scared of being rejected? 

A large part of him wants to say yes. 

But a tiny little thought in the back of his mind says no. And he listens. 

“Gavin, it's.….fine.”

Gavin stumbles his mumbling to a stop. “Uh, ok.”

Nines clears his throat, and throws himself off the metaphorical cliff to risk. “I’ll...If you ask me a question, I’ll answer it honestly.”

He sees Gavin gulp. “Um. Any question?”

Nines clenches his fists so tight he feels his nails dig sharp into his palm. He’s playing a game with risk. 

“I...sure.” 

Gavin looks down, furrow in his brow. “Ok….”

Nines holds his breath, ready for the worst.

“Can I think about it and ask later?”

Nines breathes out. “Sure.” He shouldn’t necessarily feel as relieved as he does, since the question will end up being asked at some point. But small blessings, he appreciates. 

“Okay! Good- I mean, that’s fine. Just- just let me know.” 

Nines doesn’t wait for Gavin to respond, having already dug himself into a deep enough hole. He clicks for his hippocampus to continue down the path and hears Gavin do the same.    
“I’m not going to ask something awful, you don’t have to run.” 

Nines tenses at Gavin’s words. “Well- that- uh, that... is fine. And I just… we’ve had a lot of side tracks so far, and it’s already late in the day...so, we should focus on getting to this person.”

His face is turned away from Gavin, so he doesn’t see how the brightness in his eyes fades, disappointed. “Right! Right, yes. Let’s get on with it.”

Nines hums agreement, not caring if Gavin hears or not. It was mostly for his own ears, hearing that they are moving on and not lingering on topics that set his heart racing. 

Of course, that doesn’t stop his own brain from rolling ideas around, wondering and dreading what Gavin will choose his question to be.

Will it be about something trivial, like what living in the kingdom is like?

Personal, like how his relationships with his family are?

Silly, like a little hobby he keeps or if he has a favourite past time?

Sad, like what his greatest weakness is? (He hopes it’s nothing like that. What is this, a job interview?.)

Or….what if Gavin asks what Nines thinks of him? He doubts he would ask such a question. Gavin doesn’t seem all that  _ attached _ to him. 

Sure, they were shoved together by various circumstances... accidentally engaged so Nines wouldn’t get in trouble with his father, the soulstones happened to match them up- probably a coincidence? How many mers wear soulstones anyway? He hadn’t heard or seen any before. The Teller scale showed them some….private moments from a potential future, which might have forced them to move faster than they should...but they both saw almost the same thing...maybe from different vantage points?

_ Why am I making myself crazy with this?!?! My brain won’t move on! _

Nines scowls to himself, clenching his jaw to prevent himself from whining his most recent thought out loud. He feels needy and on edge, like his skin is that of an electric eel. If anyone or anything was to touch him, they would get a shock of static. He doesn’t want to look at anyone or hear anything, for the risk that they would be shocked. He’s been pushed over his edge, and it’s all too much.

Yet he  _ wants _ so much. 

Rose was right about being lonely…..

_ Ugh! Shut up, brain! _

He clicks his fingers to snap himself out of his thoughts. He’s got other things to focus on. 

The pink coral is growing in shorter stalks and smaller blooms as the path widens into a small dip. A large, long cloudy white boulder of quarts stands to the side of the dark opening of an underground cave. Multicolored fish dart around it, investigating the tilted stone before swiftly moving past it as Nines and Gavin approach it. 

Gavin reaches out and runs a hand down the side of the stone, disrupting bits of silt and sending them into the water. 

“Rose said to...knock on this?”

Nines nods. “Yes. Then we wait.”

“Okay then…” Gavin reaches out again, his hand a fist, and raps his knuckles on the stone.

It resonates and blurs with its own ringing, making Gavin snatch his hand back away from it. 

“Uh….”

Nines shrugs. “Not the weirdest thing we’ve seen today.”

Gavin looks sideways at the ringing stone with scepticism. “That...is entirely true. As weird as that is.”

They hover outside of the cave entrance in silence, giving their hippocampi the reins enough so they can reach down and graze on algae and seagrass. 

Long seconds tick by, accompanied only by the swish of the short kelp and the munching of the hippocampi. 

Nines is watching the waves move above them when he hears a long clanging crash from inside the cave and his head snaps towards it. 

“What-?” 

As soon as he breathes the question, a pale tentacle reaches out from the dark of the cave. 

Both Gavin and Nines shoot backwards, their hippocampi rearing and kicking as they back up. 

“Steady….” Nines says to them, though his voice shakes. What exactly was that? 

Another tentacle reaches out, touches the ground delicately. The arms have neon blue rings circling them, the blue so bright it practically glows. Set on black spots, the blue stands out like stars in the dark sky. 

A shaky, shy voice comes from within the cave.

“Visitors?” 

Nines looks up from the tentacles and into the darkness of the cave. He can barely make out a face….or half of one. The other half is marred with scars, making the person’s face striped with blue scars. 

“Uh...yes? Are you- do you know Rose?”

There’s a long pause, until the cave mer speaks again. 

“Visitors for Ralph?”

Nines’ brow furrows. Ralph? 

“Uh, yes. We need help, and Rose sent us here.” 

More tentacles slither out of the cave, carrying the top half of a scarred man. Finally, his face was in daylight. 

Nines’ eyebrows shoot up. What in the-

“You? Need Ralph’s help?”

He- Ralph, apparently- sounded awfully excited, and Nines nodded, not wanting to make him sad. Why was he speaking in third person…?

Ralph giggles. “Good! Yes, good! Come in!” He turns back into the cave with a beckoning hand waving them in. 

Nines looks at Gavin with a twist on his face. A nonverbal ‘should we trust this?’. 

Gavin shrugs and whispers to him as he gestures to himself, “Hunter, remember. If anything happens, I can protect us.”

Nines blinks. He hadn’t thought of that, and upon doing so, he feels a safer. But he isn't going to totally relax. 

They both tie their hippocampus to the stone with some spare rope and Gavin looks back at Nines, raising an eyebrow.

He shoves his misgivings away as he nods. Reminding himself that this is part of saving his friends, he swallows his nerves and follows Gavin into the cave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorta-secret-not-really crossover? check! (I just needed characters and I love those, no stress if you dont know the characters. they're just names in a story if you dont, ok?)   
> And here is the Ralph boy!! We'll see what he's got in store for them....
> 
> Thank you for reading!! i hope all of you are enjoying :)


	20. ?ra?en

**_PINK AWAKE._ **

 

**_PINK FEAR._ **

 

**_FEAR, FEAR._ **

 

**_PINK….pink trapped._ **

**_pink in glass._ **

 

**_pink with blue._ **

**_Cold blue._ **

 

**_fear in blue. Anger in blue._ **

  
  
  


**_angry Queen._ **

****  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit is about to get realllly weird.
> 
>  
> 
> also, i got bored one day and did a little bit of- very shitty-art of Gavin and Nines   
> wow look at all that bad anatomy   
> [Gavin](https://bluefrecklefire.tumblr.com/post/178516524331/its-ya-boy-gavin-reed-but-as-a-tiger-shark)  
> [Nines](https://bluefrecklefire.tumblr.com/post/179035710161/wow-look-at-that-bad-anatomy)


	21. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I was gone for so long!! I got super sick for two weeks....as in, there was a time where I couldn't see or hear and breathing was really painful and hard so focusing on writing was really difficult...BUT! Im back now and so is Serendipity! Thank you all for your patience, you all are so amazing
> 
>  
> 
> (honestly im not very happy with this chapter just because i wrote a lot of it while sick- on the days i could see anyway- so. bleh. I'll work hard on the next one!)

Upon entering, it's not much brighter than it appeared from the outside. Gavin glances behind him, making sure that Nines really is following. 

He wasn’t joking. Should trouble arise, he would protect them without a moment's hesitation. 

...More like throw himself in front of Nines and take any blows coming towards them for him, but same thing. 

He’s good with a knife. 

But he specialises in diving headfirst into trouble and danger without any plan. Also, self-sacrifice. 

Eh, pros and cons, right?

He looks up and sees starfish freckling the walls of the cave, and bioluminescent algae resting in jars on wooden plank shelves. He reads the crooked label ‘Dinoflagellates’ that is stuck on the glass. 

_ Dino-what? _

Bundles of sea shells- all different types- dangle from the ceiling and he has to shove them out of the way, making them clatter together. Fish bodies- somehow dried- make Gavin’s eyebrows shoot upwards. Creepy. The various specimen are pinned to the walls, and are arranged alongside vials and bottles of variously colored liquids with preserved bodies of assorted animals, which are lined up on a particularly precarious looking shelf. 

Gavin shivers. He can too easily imagine himself in one of those bottles. 

He flinches sideways when he hears a hiss from inside the wall. Upon looking, he’s met with the ugly, sneering face of an eel. 

“Hey, Nines...watch out for the eels. I think they live in the cavities in the walls….” 

“Yeah, I saw you jump.”

Gavin jumps when Nines’ voice sounds right behind him. “Holy sh - Nines! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He turns to see his friend behind him and is met with wide eyes, pupils blown wide in the dark. 

“Sorry, I’m not. I just can’t see anything in here, so it's a little hard to judge how far I am from you.” 

Gavin rolls his eyes. “Okay, so what are you going to do about it?”

Nines blinks, quiet for a moment. “Um.”

Gavin turns away so they don’t lose Ralph, who is adjusting a fish on the wall. But as soon as he turns, he feels a finger tap the back of his hand. 

“What. Are you doing.”

Nines clears his throat. “I was thinking that….if I know for sure where you are, I won’t bump into you. And you won’t be surprised anymore.”

Gavin blinks. “You….aren’t wrong.”

Nines has the gall to look smug. “No, I’m not. So…,” he hooks a his pinky finger around Gavin’s. “Don’t get lost.”

Gavin ignores the fact that his cheeks are certainly warming and rolls his eyes again. “I won’t. Don’t get lost yourself.”

As he turns away and starts moving again, he almost misses Nines muttering, “I won’t get lost. I’ve got you.”

He’s suddenly very glad for how dark the cave is as his cheeks turn deep sapphire. He’s supposed to be an adult, but a tiny comment like that makes him blush? Jeez, he’s a mess.

They carry on, following Ralph deeper into the cave and listening as he hums a nonsense song to himself. 

Gavin is finding himself shifting more and more towards Nines’ side and hooking a second finger with his. 

Just for extra security, of course. 

Ralph chirps happily in front of them and turns a corner, one of his tentacles hugging the wall before being tugged into the next room. 

Gavin looks sideways at Nines. This is just getting weird, but they have to have help with the tracking of the kraken. And they have no obvious other options. 

He flicks his tail against Nines and nudges him before going around the corner. He tugs Nines in after him. 

It's not as bad as he expected. The same bioluminescent algae that was bottled in the cave entrance hall floats about in the room, giving it a effervescent glow. Shelves overflowing with books line the circular room, the pages remarkably dry like the fish in the hall. 

Honestly, he hadn’t expected much from Ralph. But looks can be deceiving- there’s certainly some strong magic happening here. 

“So….can you help us?”

Upon hearing his words, Ralph turns around to grin at Gavin. “Ralph can help! Ralph is very good with magic.”

Nines coughs. “Uh...good. We need to find our friends.”

Ralph nods, eyes sparkling like a dog looking at a bone. 

“They were taken by the kraken.”

The sparkle in his eyes immediately disappears and his smile drops. “The kraken…,” he whispers with solemn dread.

Something nervous squims in Gavin’s gut. “Yes. Will you- can you help us?”

Ralph’s eyes are locked on the far wall, glazed and distant. “Ah….kraken. Ralph doesn’t like that kraken.”

Are they losing him? Rose did say that he has trauma….

He figured short descriptions would be better than “destroyed half the palace”.

“Oh, we don’t like it either. It’s taken a lot from us too….ruined our home and taken from our families.”

Ralph nods numbly, like he didn’t really hear. “Yes...it has taken so much from Ralph. Hurt Ralph. Makes everyone scared of him.”

Nines and Gavin jump when Ralph’s eyes meet theirs and stay there with such fearsome determination that its like he can see their souls. “Does Ralph scare you, visitors?”

Gavin gulps. He can’t tell the truth, that wouldn’t do anything good for anyone. But….would lying help either?

Lucky for him, Nines speaks for the both of them.   
“Uh, no. We think you’re a nice guy, Ralph.”

A hopeful grin splits Ralphs face. “Really? Is Ralph good?”

Gavin glances at Nines, thinking about how Ralph is more like an abandoned puppy than a genius scientist, but goes with it. “Yes, you’re good. Very good, and a good scientist. Can you help us?”

He almost breathes a sigh of relief when Ralph claps his hands together in glee with a huge smile on his face.

“Yes! Good Ralph will help you!” 

_ Thank Poseidon.  _ He thinks to himself and the look on Nines face makes it clear that he’s thinking the same. 

Nines holds up the scale- which he’s apparently been holding the entire time, but Gavin didn’t notice until now- and holds it out to Ralph. “Rose says that you need a scale to find the kraken….so here’s the one that we have.”

Ralph tilts his head as he looks at it. “Ah, Ralph knows this. Yes, he will use your scale. Need the DNA from it….little friends will smell for you.”

He takes it from Nines hands- not explaining what ‘little friends’ is supposed to mean and puts it onto his table. Gavin moves forward after him, pulling Nines with him by their hooked fingers. 

“What are you going to do?”

Ralph doesn’t look back at them when Nines asks the question. “Ralph will let the little friend mites eat some of the scale. Once they eat some, they want more. They will track it to the kraken by smelling traces in the water.”

Now  _ that  _ sounds more like a scientist. Except for the speaking in third person thing. 

“Ok…” Nines sounds sceptical, but doesn’t argue. 

They keep their distance while Ralph works, tracking him with their eyes as he wanders about the room fetching various different tools and things, all while muttering the word ‘succulent’ to himself for unknown reasons. 

The scale is mostly untouched on the table until Ralph takes a small pick to it and cracks off a shard. 

Gavin’s jaw drops. “How did he…?”

Nines shrugs, his shoulder brushing Gavins. Were they really standing so close together? “Scientist tricks.”

Gavin scoffs, deciding to ignore that he’s this close to leaning on Nines shoulder based purely on just how close their proximity is to each other. “Ok, sure, but….scales are supposedly harder than diamonds. Cracking one should be just about impossible!”

“Well sure, but diamonds can be cut. It just takes the right tools. It's probably the same with scales,” Nines reasons, shrugging.

Gavin mutters something crude under his breath, still doubtful, but doesn’t complain. 

Ralph hums as he works and they watch as he puts a bucket of something clear from a hole in the wall that they hadn’t seen previously. Without hesitation, he picks up the scale and dunks it into the clear. 

“Ah- wait, what-”

Ralph turns to Nines at his outburst. “What’s wrong? Did Ralph make a mistake?”   
Nines pauses. “Uh, well, I just….why did you put it in that? Don’t we need it?”

Ralph shakes his head. “No, Ralph knows. If he leaves it uncoated, the little friend mites will want to eat it instead of tracking the kraken.”

Nines blinks. “Oh. Okay then.”

Ralph turns back to the scale and raises it out of the clear substance, which drips excess back into the bucket. Gavin and Nines tilt their heads in utter bewilderment, never having seen something drip before.

“How is that even…,” Gavin’s voice fades before he finishes his sentence, so confused that he just stops thinking about talking. 

“No idea,” Nines mutters back, not caring that he didn’t finish his sentence.

Ralph doesn’t pay them any mind as the scale stops dripping and he blows out bubbles at it. The clear whatever-the-hell-it-is hardens instantly, crackling across the surface until it fully encases the scale like thick nail paint. 

Gavin is kinda losing his entire mind because science, but he decides to not question it for the sake of his sanity.

Nines did question, but with a different intent. “Ralph, have you ever thought of being a scientist in one of the kingdoms?”

Ralph froze. “Kingdoms?”

Nines nods, not noticing how Ralph tensed up. “Yeah, between kingdom Cylia and kingdom Jeiiko, I’m sure there would be a place for you to work.”

The scale falls out of Ralph’s hand and drops onto the floor, stirring up sand. “Cylia?”

Nines hums. “Sure.”

Ralph whimpers, whirling around. His tentacles flail, knocking a few tools from the walls. “No no no no, Ralph doesn’t want to go there. Don’t make him go there!”

“Ah!”

As a variety of tools rain onto the floor, Gavin flinches backwards, yanking Nines arm. 

Nines doesn’t budge, though his eyes are wide. “It's ok, Ralph! We- no one is going to make you go anywhere.”

Ralph hugs himself. “You know what they did to Ralph? They hurt Ralph, chased him away. Just because he’s an octopus. Said he was too much like the kraken, he would hurt them.”

Ralph looks up into their eyes, looking back and forth between them. “But Ralph doesn’t want to hurt them! Ralph doesn’t want to hurt anyone! Ralph just likes science and to help people….”

His words fade into mumbles, almost quiet enough to go undetected. “Ralph is good, a good Ralph, Ralph j-just wants to be good and help people….”

Gavin doesn’t move. This is turning ugly, fast, and Ralph was their only hope of finding the kraken. They needed their help, so if they could improve the situation fast….   
Nines holds up his hands in a placating gesture. “That’s….fine, that’s good. It's ok, Ralph. ”

Ralph hugs himself. “Ralph tries to be good….”

Nines awkwardly clears his throat. Ok, now that the panicked gibbering has ceased, how do they handle this situation? Do they comfort Ralph? The last time they tried that, it had blown up in their face.

Nines visibly takes a deep breath, and gently and calmly makes his way over to Ralph, tail slowly swishing back and forth so he doesn’t move too fast. “Ralph, it's all ok.”

Ralph looks up at Nines, who is now directly in front of him. Nines smiles, tentatively but kindly. 

Gavin’s jaw gawps. “Uh….” 

_ What’s happening? _

Nines holds out a hand to the cowering man in front of him. “It’s alright now.”

Ralph breathes out a tormented sigh and haltingly places his hand in Nines, which Nines places his other hand on top of and pats comfortingly. Ralph bows his head as he talks.

“Ralph is happy here…..doesn’t need to go back to them.”

Nines nods encouragingly, glancing back at Gavin with a half smile. Gavin smiles back, hesitantly. Is this actually working? 

Nines pats Ralph’s hand again. “Ok, that’s just fine. No pressure. Now can we work on the scale? Will you help us find our friends?”

Ralph’s face lights up and becomes energized. “Yes! Ralph will help as much as he can!” 

He pulls his hand from Nines's hands and swirls around, scooping up the scale with one of his tentacles on his way. Nines leaps back with a whip of his tail to avoid the whirling tentacles. However, he’s grinning as he ends up back at Gavin’s side. They share a glance and Nines shrugs lightheartedly.    
“He just needed some support.”

Gavin lets out a puff of disbelief- or is it relief- through his nose. “I’m just glad we’re moving forward again.”

Nines shrugs again and turns his head away to watch Ralph, who is moving with renewed urgency. He powders the scale with something vaguely purple, which absorbs into the clear coat over it and disappears. 

Gavin’s eyes roll up to the cave ceiling as he reminds himself not to think too hard about it. 

Ralph reaches up to a high shelf and pulls down a thin bottle of something murky. Looking closer, Gavin can see the substance moving and pressing against the glass. 

“What-!” He lurches backwards, half behind Nines. The more he looks, the more they look so like leeches. But leeches with very obvious teeth. 

Nines scoffs at him. “What happened to mister mighty hunter? Scared of a few bugs?”

Gavin glares at him. “I’m not! Shut up! Uh- do they bite?” 

The tentacle that Ralph has wrapped around the bottle strokes the tip down the glass. “No, they don’t. They only eat minerals, which is why they like scales. Ralph wouldn’t keep little mite friends around if they were harmful!”

Gavin tries to be subtle when he breathes out a relieved breath and ignores Nines snicker. He can fight big things! But keeping track of little things are hard. They can get up….places. Not good places.

They both drift closer to the work table where Ralph has placed the bottle of mites and the bit of scale he shaved off.

Nines has shifted in front of Gavin, obviously curious about what is about to happen by his widened eyes. Gavin shimmies up against his side in order to see as well and suddenly his skin feels super charged. Nines is shockingly warm and Gavin doesn’t want to move from his side, ever. He shifts a little and the rub of their skin sends electric across his skin, causing his breath to shutter.

Fuck. When did he get so sensitive to touch? 

Or is it just Nines?

He gulps. He doesn’t have time to think on these things, and it's probably just because the cave is cold and Nines is warm and it's his body’s natural response to be attracted to warm things when in a cold environment. 

Of course that’s it. Nothing more. 

At least, that’s what he tells himself as he presses just a little closer to Nines. 

And his breath definitely doesn’t cut short when Nines shifts an arm and lay it across his shoulders so he can get closer. 

“We can share the space, ok?” he says quietly next to Gavin’s ear, and Gavin can hear the smile in his voice. 

Gavin nods dumbly, pretending to be intensely focused on the table in front of them and not on how absolutely overwhelming the happy stutter in his heart and the warmth pressed against him is. 

He tries to focus on what’s going on as Ralph picks back up the bottle with a tentacle and lifts another to wrap firmly around the cork top. 

He mostly succeeds, even though Nines tail is brushing his and it's making his brain fuzzy.

Ralph pops the cork out of the bottle and immediately tips it onto the table as long, pill bug looking creatures burst out. They immediately dive for the scale piece and swarm it. 

Gavin jumps at their speed and, though he probably imagines it, Nines’ hold seems to tighten on him. 

He doesn’t imagine the thumb swiping a soothing path across his shoulder though, and he lets the corners of his lips quirk up a little. 

The mites are actually a little cute. They munch on the scale chip and in no time, it’s completely gone. They sniff around the desk for more, but upon finding nothing, their tiny legs and tails start moving them through the water. 

Ralph grins at them. “Follow them! They will lead you to your friends.” 

Nines bows his head to Ralph. “Thank you for your help. We’ll be sure to come and visit you when we have time.”

Gavin ducks his head to Ralph as well, but quickly turns and slips from under Nines’ arm, ignoring the sour pinch in his chest at the lost of contact and warmth. 

“C’mon. We can’t lose them,” he says sternly to Nines as he hauls him along behind him by the arm. 

Nines quickly waves to Ralph and catches up to Gavin so they’re side by side. 

However, the cave is still dark as all hell. The mites are very vaguely bioluminescent, but not enough to light the entire path, so…

Gavin lets his hand slip down and into his companion’s hand. Nines jolts next to him in reaction, and Gavin almost yanks backwards and apologises but before he can move, Nines squeezes his hand. 

His voice is soft and echos faintly in the space around them. “Thanks. I don’t want to get lost in here....”

Gavin nods before realizing that Nines probably can’t see him, so he clears his throat- yikes, that was loud- and replies, “Sure, of course. We have a mission, I can’t lose my partner now, can I?”

_ That was stupid,  _ he thinks as the words come into the open water and sound more dismissive than he was trying for. But Nines taps the back of his hand with a finger regardless. 

“You think I would let you go on this mission alone? You may be a brave hunter, but I’ve got all the brains.”

Gavin grins, glad Nines can’t see him. “Brains? Don’t kid yourself. If you didn’t have a tail and a mouth, I would think you were actually a jellyfish.”

Nines whips his tail with his own. “I take offense to that. Those things don’t even  _ have _ a brain.”

Gavin snorts. “Exactly.”

He can practically hear the response coming before Nines says it. “But….”

“Don’t you dare,” Gavin growls. 

“Jellyfish are awfully pretty….,” Nines drawls, and he can hear the grin in his words. 

“Nines, I swear to god.”

“So you must think I’m pretty, like them!” He plays like it’s some epiphany.

Gavin groans. “I did not say that!”

_ I did think it though... _

He feels Nines shrug. “It was implied. So I’ve got the brains and the looks. What a high compliment, Gavin!” His playful and slightly mocking tone continues.

Gavin flicks Nines back, swiping the end of his tail with his. “You’re twisting my words.”

Nines shrugs again, cheekily. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Gavin opens his mouth to reply, but is shocked into silence when Nines twists his hand and twines their fingers together, just barely. Palms touching, and just the tips of their fingers crisscrossing. 

Nines clears his throat. “But either way….I think I got lucky in terms of partners for this mission. You aren’t half bad.”

Gavin stays silent for a long second. What can he even say to that? 

“Uh.”

Before he can reply, the entrance of the cave glows bright, like the light at the end of a tunnel.

Accept this ‘light at the end’ is also the light that is ending the little bonding moment that they were having, so Gavin can’t help but frown a little. 

Nines fingers slip from his and he heads over to where their hippocampi are resting, quickly untying them. 

“Here, hurry. Those mites are moving faster than I expected…”

Gavin ignores the disappointed sting in his chest and mounts up, Nines already trailing after the mites on his hippocampus. 

A grey swarm, the mites move like a flock of birds. Shifting shape frequently, visually switching places, and moving fast. A sheet moving in sync through the water appearing to be a bigger animal than they really are. Like when rats move together in a line and look like a snake to outside observers. 

It made Nines and himself look like they were following a creature that couldn’t make up its mind on whether it was a turtle, a fish, or possibly a floating rock. That last one is slightly less plausible, but after seeing dried fish under water and the mind shattering ‘Telling’ earlier, Gavin is this close to believing anything and not thinking twice about questioning it. 

Trailing behind Nines, his eyes land on his back. He watches as it and the rest of his body  synchronizes fluidly with the movement of the hippocampus. The way his quiet and determined focus that is leading them on their mission is entrancing. 

Making their way from Ralph’s cave is a silent journey while the sun begins to dye the water pink and orange with the setting of the sun. Swarms of fish flash silver as they pass by them and the kelp sways in a way that makes Gavin flinch away from it, their shadows appearing like hands reaching for him. 

They pass over a ledge of coral shelves and start moving into deeper water. Gavin shudders. The aqua blue that he’s used to being swathed in is fading into a merciless rayless dark, and he can’t tell if it's because it's night or if they’re just that deep. 

Not that it matters. Just because it's dark doesn’t mean the mission can be put on hold. 

Doesn’t stop Gavin from shivering though. 

“Where the hell are we?,” he calls forward to Nines.

Nines doesn’t respond for a second. When he does, it’s almost too quiet to hear. 

“We’re just above the whale graves.”

Gavin’s eyebrows shoot up and his muscles all tense. Whale graves?    
“Are you saying that it’s a place that whales come to die or many whales are killed here?,” he asks, voice low as he dreads the answer. 

Nines clears his throat. “Uh, both.”

Gavin clenches his hands into fists. “That’s super reassuring, thanks.”

“You asked,” Nines replies with a shrug.

Gavin opens his mouth to shoot back a snippy reply but cuts himself off and his jaw closes with a snap. He taps his hippocampi’s sides to catch up to Nines and as soon as he’s by his side, he whispers, “is that a whale shark?!”

Nines nods without looking a him, eyes wide. “Yeah, it…..is. It looks young though, why is it here?”

Gavin shrugs and shifts a little closer. Not that he’s scared or something. Just, he promised to protect Nines and he can’t do that if he’s not close by, right? Of course, that’s the only reason. And the clenching in his stomach isn’t fear, he just hasn’t eaten in a while. He’s only close to Nines for no other reason than to make communicating easier. 

_ Right. That’s it. _

Gavin keeps his eyes on the whale shark while Nines watches the mites so they don’t lose them. The whale shark doesn’t seem to be doing anything but circling around the bones of the fallen whales, which are far larger than it is. At least twice the size of the whale shark. 

Nines clears his throat, and Gavin looks up to where see that he’s beckoning him with a tilt of his head. Gavin’s eyes flick back to the whale shark and then back up to Nines with a quirk of his eyebrow. Nines shakes his head. 

Gavin blinks-  _ did we just communicate with only our eyes?- _ and follows Nines with one last backwards glance at the whale shark. It looks lost in the scene, surrounded by huge white bones, in deep blue water at the bottom of a cavern, circling forlornly. Alone in the deep. 

Gavin can’t help but listen to it's echoing cries, reminiscent of whale song but so much more high pitched and begging for answers. 

Gavin swallows his pity and his empathy, and follows Nines. 

The water only gets darker as they follow the mites farther. From deep blue comes dusty black and Gavin is immensely glad for the fact that the mites seem to have some bioluminescent factor to them. 

Suddenly, a mass of rock comes into view from the dark as the glow of the mites spill light forward onto it. 

“Uh- hold on-!”

Gavin scrambles for his head light-since he put it away- and reattaches it to his hippocampi’s head armor. The light reveals a jagged tower of rock, with a thin, crooked opening in the middle. 

Nines shifts backwards to his side, letting the mites head down towards the opening without following. 

“Ok…..Gavin, are you ready?”

Gavin scoffs and shoots him a sideways look. “Ready? Of course I am! I...yeah, sure. Of course. What about you?,” he asks, poorly swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. 

Nines stares at the rock like he expects it to explode out and grab him. “Yes, I’m...well..no. We have no idea what’s in there. But courage isn’t not being scared. It's being scared and doing it anyway because we have to.”

Gavin stares at him. The side of Nines face is pale in the dark water and his blue eyes seem to have a lightning like glow to them as they focus in on the stone fortress, like a sniper would laser in on a target. 

“Ready?”

“Born ready,” Gavin replies with much more bravado than he feels.

“Let’s do this.”

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go!! There's much to come! (and this time, the chapter should actually be pretty soon. But who knows what the world will throw at me next. -sigh-.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	22. Nines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so first of all…  
> I AM SO SORRY.  
> I got horrible writers burn out after the last chapter and had to take a break from this. But now I am back! I’ll do a better job at pacing myself.  
> Also, my writing style underwent a little bit of…..crushing under a heel and then being reformed, i guess, so we’ll see how this goes.  
> Might be a little bumpy at first….idk.  
> Please forgive me if this is a little slow to warm up again!  
> Also- during my break, i discovered that Im far more happy just writing whatever comes to mind and is the most fun. SO. thats what I’mma do! And thats my excuse for making Tracie and Tracy southern. Also, happy, since they havent had the bad life in this au like they did in the game

Nines takes a deep breath through his gills and lets it out, sending bubbles tumbling up from his nose.

With a last glance at Gavin, he firmly taps his hippocampi’s sides and flattens himself against its back as they charge downwards towards the opening of the stone, following the mites’ trail. The crack appears to be bigger and bigger as he rapidly draws closer to it. A giant fissure in the stone reveals a hollow inside. 

Nines swallows the frantic beating of his heart and enters it, Gavin directly behind him. 

_ Get ready for the fireworks…. _

He breaches through the gap and into the inside of the stone. 

His eyes snap open and his jaw gapes. 

“This is-?,” Gavin whispers with just as much shock as he feels.

He was expecting darkness and bones littering the floor. Dust, silt, stalactites and stalagmites, bugs scavenging the floor for scraps of kills.

He didn’t expect…. _ This.  _

Bioluminescent fish flit from corners, making light pool around them. Yellow and orange jellyfish, also bioluminescent, float about leisurely and the floor is entirely covered with algae and short swaying plants. It's a lamp of yellow glow and said glow reflects off of the absolute abundance of abalone shells on the floor. 

All of them are pink. 

“Wow, this kraken sure likes pink,” Gavin whispers, probably to himself but Nines hears it and shakes his head. 

“These….”

He’s suddenly accosted with a memory. It was even before the engagement party. A merchant had come to the castle to complain about how all his abalone shells had been taken- but not just any shells. Only the pink ones. His father, King Kamski had sent some soldiers to check the perimeter of the property and they had found a scale. 

Nines relays all this to Gavin. 

“The kraken….took the shells?” 

Nines nods. “But only the pink ones….” 

Gavin shrugs. “Reminds me of a human legend. A beast like an eel, but it can fly? They call it a ‘dragon’. It hoards shiny things, I think.”

“You think that’s what the kraken is doing?”

“From what I can see, maybe…,” Gavin hums as his eyes scan the floor.

Nines nods. “I guess it makes sense….”

He looks up. The stone above is jagged and bare, spiked downwards. If it were to fall, it would certainly hurt. He subconsciously shifts backwards a little, even though the only true way away from them is to leave the cavern completely. 

If the mites hadn’t specifically led them here, he wouldn’t ever think that the kraken would reside anywhere near the vicinity of such a place, a balance of gentle and delicate beauty shadowed by powerful looking roughness on the edges.

“So….what next?,” Gavin asks from someplace behind him. 

Nines shrugs. “Not sure? We could look around for clues about where Simon and Amanda are…we know this is the right place. The mites aren’t going forward any more.”

Said mites are scattered across the cavern floor, latched onto the fallen scales, completely absorbed in their meal. 

Gavin hums. “Your suggestion is as good an idea as any. Let’s start looking around.”

They start moving forwards to scan the place- for what, who knows- when their hippocampus rear and kick out their front legs, whinnying wildly, eyes rolling.

“Wha-!,” Gavin exclaims loudly, tilting forward to stay on as his hippocampus bucks. The whole cavern echos with a rumbling roar.

Nines flails, his tail flashing to balance himself. Fuck, what the hell?

Suddenly, the entrance is torn wider and the entire structure, which was already unstable but now is even more so, shudders. The spiked rocks at the top loosen slightly, letting bits of rock spill down in the form of pebbles. 

Massive rolling eyes in a balloon head of red flesh, eight arms scraping into the side of the stone. A beak built for crushing and scales glint on the tops of its arms and head, moving like snake scales do in order allow it's massive body to move. 

Time was up.

And suddenly they’ve been cast into a situation as hot as the volcano thermals and twice as dangerous. 

Time stretches as Nines eyes meet with one of the kraken’s.

_ I’m looking into the face of death…. _

Time snaps back together when Gavin calls out to him.

“Nines! Do you have a plan?!,” Gavin cries from a couple meters away, where he attempts to sooth his snorting hippocampus. 

Nines’ throat is closed up. For the second time, he’s face to face with the kraken and there’s no thoughts in his head. 

_ Think. Think, Nines, you damn idiot!  _

His eyes flash to the stones above them. Sharp as spears, haphazardly hanging down, waiting to be disrupted and fall down onto some poor victim. 

A enormous arm of red, muscle and suckers circles him like a wall. His breath stutters and he coughs. 

_ Fuck. _

“There’s- there’s one thing I can do.”

There was no time to get it to Gavin. However little practice he had with it, it was going to have to do. 

The fluxxshell. Buried deep in his bag and under too many things to keep track of. 

Nines kicks his hippocampus in the sides and they bolt upwards, Nines heart hammering at his ribs like it's trying to break out of his chest. His hand scrambles in his bag as they shoot up towards the ceiling. The kraken roars again, making more pebbles and dust fall, and Gavin shouts as a tentacle swings too close.

“Nines!”

He winces at Gavin’s hoarse, distressed cry. But he can’t stop. 

His hand closes around a cold, bumpy texture in his bag and he knows- he’s got the shell! 

A spear of panic shoots through his chest as his eyes focus on what’s above him. He underestimated the size of the stones. Twice his height and thicker than your everyday tree trunks, he can’t just slice through them. Okay, never mind on the fluxxshell. That would be like taking a sewing needle to a brick wall. 

He looks down. The kraken’s arm is right behind him, a red sheet taking his vision, coming closer and closer. 

His heart stutters. He’s going to be shoved up into the spikes and speared through. 

Speared- wait. 

He takes in a shuddering breath. If he doesn’t time this right, he’s going to be a prince kabob on one of those rocks. But if he does….

His hippocampus whinnies in distress, wavering from it's path upwards. Nines pats it's neck. “Steady, there. Just a little longer…”

The arm is still rushing closer, it's size causing the water behind it froth and roll, digging up plants and dragging them into the churning water.

“Nines, what are you doing?!!” Gavin’s voice cracks with panic from below and Nines’ chest squeezes. He could barely hear it over the sound of rock cracking and straining over the uproarious movement within it, but what he did hear makes him choke. The unhinged fear in Gavin’s voice….

“No time, I-,,” He starts to call back to alleviate Gavin’s stress but is cut off by his hippocampus shrieking and bolting to the side, out of the way of the tentacle. Nines eyes blur from the water as they rush through it. 

A cry so loud Nines feels it vibrate in every muscle echos in the cavern. His head whips around to see where they came from. 

_ Did it work?  _

Blue blood bursts in clouds from the red of the kraken’s arm. In its pursuit of Nines, it had gotten itself struck by the stones instead. The kraken flails like a worm that’s been stepped on, only a million times bigger. The water from it's panic hits Nines like a tsunami and Gavin is suddenly so much closer to him, knocked forward by the water. Completely disoriented, Nines hand claws through the water at Gavin. The kraken slams a tentacle down on the floor, making the cavern shake again. Nines gasps, hand desperately reaching sideways for Gavin. 

“Gavin! Can you get closer?,” he yells over the kraken’s earth rumbling roars. 

Gavin opens his mouth to reply, but they’re hit by another slamming wave of water and get knocked into the wall. Nines watches in horror as Gavin’s head is slammed into the stone, knocking him out, and his grasp on the reins slips as his eyes fall closed.

“NO!” Nines struggles against the sloshing water, and turns his hippocampus towards Gavin’s slumped form about to fall off his own hippocampus. He fights to move his stead forward at first, but just as Gavin is about to fall, they make it to his side with a final lurch and Nines catches him, dragging him into his arms. 

“Gavin, c’mon, wake up, I need your help here…,” Nines frets as shakes Gavin’s shoulder.

The kraken punches the wall with tentacles, slamming the others down on the floor and against the walls. Nines gasps, head snapping up to where the kraken is towering over them. The kraken pins it's gaze on him and screams again, the tremendous noise producing sound waves with it's grandeur of power. A tentacle rushes towards them. 

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck!! _

In one motion, Nines cradles Gavin with one arm and holds the reins of both hippocampi with the other. He’s about to urge his hippocampus forward when the tentacle shoots past his head- sweeping him up in a surge of water- and Nines turns in time to see it's suckers sick onto a large sheet of rock and pull it from the wall like it's a shelf. 

_ What- _

Suddenly, he’s being pushed clumsily but quickly forward towards the opening by a tentacle, leaving him with no time to retaliate or react. 

No sooner than he figured out that he was being shoved into a closed space, the stone is slotted back into place and another roar ricochets around the area, only this time muffled by the stone. 

Quiet, still water surrounds him, the new space only bland withered grey stone. Light trickles in from tiny holes in the roof. It's shocking after the band of colors in the cavern.

“Wha...what….,” Nines gulps.

_ What just happened? _

He shakes himself and notices that his hippocampus is shaking under him. He dismounts, still holding Gavin solidly in his arms. He sighs as he looks at both hippocampi, clearly terrified. From the looks of the place, it's not like the animals can bolt anywhere, so he lets go of their reins and pats his with a shaking hand. Another roar shutters through the water and the hippocampus startle. They dart farther into the space.

The kraken is still wailing on the other side of the stone, so Nines snaps his tail and bolts farther away from the entrance, in case it changes it's mind and wants them back out.  

Nines’ heart continues to hammer wildly in his chest as the limp weight in his arms creates a lump of dread in his throat. Gavin’s eyes are closed and his powerfully broad shoulders are curled inwards and hunched, making Gavin look less like the strong hunter that he is and more small and scared, all curled in on himself. 

“Gavin, wake up.” Nines whispers desperately down towards his companion as he keeps swimming. 

Finally, he turns a corner that leads to a dead end and sets Gavin down, using his own tail to cushion his head. A gash that he didn’t notice beforehand seeps blue into the water. He shakes Gavin’s shoulder, careful not to be too rough even in his panic. 

“Gavin, come on, get up, wake up,” he hisses through his teeth. 

He still doesn’t know what’s in here, so he can’t risk talking too loud. Even so, a uncontrollable whimper escapes his throat and he shakes Gavin again, after which another fear laden sob bubbles up. 

“Please, wake up…” He begs as his fingers squeeze into Gavin’s shoulder, holding on as if he were going to slip away from him at any time. 

The space between Gavin’s eyebrows suddenly creases and he groans. Nines sucks in a breath, his chest hollowing with wide open hope. 

He gulps as a cacophony of thoughts parades through his head. He used to be so composed, cold and calculating, with mile thick walls that he didn’t let anyone through. But now….it's like he’s been stripped naked, vulnerable and raw to the world. Shakable. Unsteady. 

Weak?   
Something in him shrinks into a tiny ball, feeling like cracked glass and the aftermath of earthquakes. Delicate. 

He doesn’t  _ do _ relationships and attachments for a reason, because this stuff happens every time. He gets too attached and then they get hurt and he gets burned. 

It feels vulnerable, wanting to be with someone when he knows they’ll be taken away or leave one day. Makes a chink in his armor.

He hates the feeling. 

Or he tries to, but when Gavin’s hand blindly reaches out searching for his hand and then once found latches on with ferocity, does the cracked glass turn out to be rubber as his heart seems to expand and grow with the contact. Sturdy, but not unmoveable. 

And that’s weirdly ok. 

Nines mentally slaps himself. This isn’t the time to be having an existential debate with himself! He’s currently in an  _ actual  _ crisis and needs to be coherent for that.

Gavin groans again. “Fuck, what the hell….”

Nines squeezes the hand in his, and watches as Gavin’s eyebrow creases again. Coming around….

“You with me?”

Gavin blinks, squeezing his eyelids together and squinting when his eyes open. “Wha...Nines? What-”

He suddenly shoves himself into a sitting position, tail extended in front of him, belly up. Nines startles at how fast he moves. 

“The kraken!” His gaze snaps to Nines’, eyes ablaze. “Where is it!?”

“Gavin, take it slow, you just got knocked-”

Gavin, who is now looking frantically around them with a confused look, is evidently not taking it slow whatsoever. Nines tries to push him back down- he did just get knocked out by being slammed into a wall after all- but Gavin keeps shoving his hand off. 

“Would you stop-”

“What’s happened?,” Gavin tries to get up only to get shoved back down by Nines. 

“Stop trying to get up!”

He stops his darting visual search of their surroundings to glare at Nines.    
“Then would be please tell me what the everloving  _ fuck  _ is going on?”

Nines glares back. And here he was being worried. His lip does an irritated twitch upward. “You got knocked out.”

“Yes, thank you Sherlock, I couldn’t tell. What else.”

Nines frowns, forehead creasing in frustration. Where’s his nice Gavin?

_ Not that Gavin is mine....ugh, what did I say about no existential debates!   _

“I rescued you and the hippocampi. So you’re welcome for that. Also, the kraken trapped us in here.”

Finally, Gavin flops backwards, head landing back on Nines tail. “Well...fuck, ain’t that just peachy....”

They sit in empty silence until Gavin’s face scrunches. “Wait. Why am I laying on your tail?”

Nines tenses, feeling like he’s about to confess something. It’s not like his rescue of Gavin is secret. Surely he would see the logical side...?

“Um. Well, you were still knocked out and cranial injury is unpredictable so I thought it would be good to cushion your head from the stone floor. Because...you need care.”

Wait, that didn’t come out right. 

Too late though because Gavin sucks in a breath, eyes rapidly blinking. Nines stumbles to fix his slight mistake. 

“That is- I mean, you’re injured, so you need medical care and potentially worsening wounds really wouldn’t do us well right now.”

He subtly swallows the pressure of nerves in the back of his throat. There. A perfectly reasonable explanation. 

….Is it just his imagination or does Gavin look a bit deflated by that? 

...He was just knocked out, that must be it. Nothing more. 

“That’s it?,” Gavin asks with a bland tone. 

Nines nods, reassuring him.  “Yes. Promise.”

“Whatever,” Gavin mumbles under his breath.

They fall into quiet again as Gavin stares scrutinizingly at him. He raises an eyebrow so that he looks confused instead of nervous, trying to cover up his nervousness that Gavin would prod further. 

Truly, that was the only reason- to keep Gavin from further injury. However, something contracts in Nines stomach when he remembers the soup of emotions that had made him feel like he was boiling over earlier. Damnit, now that he remembers it, that was embarrassing. Whining over Gavin just because he was knocked out for a few seconds? Really, Nines? 

Y’know what? He’s just going to pretend that didn’t happen. It was probably just left over adrenaline anyway.

Finally, Gavin sighs, letting his glare fall from Nines. Nines slumps in relief. That look was like being unexpectedly struck by a spotlight when committing a crime, not that he has ever committed a crime, but he can guess the feeling...

“Ok. Fine. Whatever. What now?” 

Nines looks around. He hadn’t really thought about what to do until Gavin had asked just now….

“Well, if you’re ok to swim, we can explore this place. Maybe there’s a way out.”

Gavin nods slowly, his eyes far away. Focused on something else, seemingly behind Nines. 

“Gavin? Did you hear me?”

Gavin barely turns his head. “Uh, yeah….did you see that?”

Nines turns to look towards whatever he was so captivated by. “See what?”

“There was a tail.”

Nines snaps back to him. “What?!”

Gavin finally tears his eyes from his focus to look at Nines with an unimpressed quirk of his eyebrow. “Would you relax? It looked like it could be another mer. It's probably nothing bad.”

Gavin pushes himself up with a groan and a flick of his tail. He sways and Nines immediately shoots up to steady him. 

“Brief reminder….you just woke up from getting hit into the wall by a giant octopus. We can rest more if you need.”

“I’m totally fine,” Gavin grumbles, like he’s not clutching onto Nines shoulder for dear life so he doesn’t fall.

Nines doesn’t stop him. Gavin already put up enough of a fight to get up, so he’ll let him go, but he’ll certainly be watching him closely. If he doesn’t steady quickly, he’s making them take a longer break.

But now, he wraps a steadying arm around his waist and they both move forward towards where Gavin saw the tail.

Slowly creeping forwards in silence doesn’t last long though.

“....Where are the hippocampi?”

Nines tenses at Gavin’s question and he coughs awkwardly. “I….let them go. When we were shoved in here. So they’re somewhere in here.”

He can practically feel Gavin’s eye roll. “Greaaat. So we lost our transportation.”

“No, they’re in here. They’re not lost to us, we just need to find them.” 

“Nines, that’s going to take-”

He cuts himself off abruptly, staring ahead with wide eyes. 

Nines turns to see what he’s looking at and his eyes just about pop out of his head. 

About thirty meters away, there’s two women. One with short blue hair and a blue tang fish tail and the other with a brown braid and a long spotted brown eel tail. 

And who would have guessed- they’re holding the reins of both hippocampus. 

But the real shock is the person hovering next to them, his hands clasped anxiously together as he takes in the sight of the hippocampus. 

Nines can barely hear their words, but the echo of the stone walls makes it possible.

“Trace, Tracie…..those hippocampus are royal steads.”

“What? How did they get in here?”

“I-”

Nines sucks in a breath as the man looks around the room and locks eyes with him. His jaw drops and his harbor seal tail twists under him, jolting him forward in the water. 

Gavin, still held up by Nines side, looks between him and the man. “Uh, is that-?”

Nines flicks his tail to move them forward. His entire body is shaking in relief and though he’s very sure that Gavin can feel it, he can’t bring himself to care.

“Simon?”

The name echos around the cavern walls and surrounds them. A long second hangs high over  their heads in anticipation. 

Simon grins, his shoulders falling like the weight of the world had been taken off of them. 

“Nines.” He breathes out, a hand going to his chest. 

He slides past the two women and darts towards Nines with his arms tucked to his chest, like he was physically holding himself back. 

Nines grins from cheek to cheek and lets out a laugh. He lets go of Gavin- who stumbles a bit but then recovers, shooting a dirty glare at Nines which goes unnoticed- and meets Simon in the middle with a giddy laugh. He scoops Simon into a tight hug and twirls him around, both smiling like fools. Simon giggles into Nines shoulder as they spin and as they slow, Simon leans back in his hold.   
“Great Poseidon, you have no idea how good it is to see you, Nines.”

Nines smiles at him, his eyes warm. “Says you. You wouldn’t believe how much I searched.”

He lets go of him and backs away, running his eyes down Simon’s body in search of wounds. “Are you hurt in any way?”

Simon shakes his head. “Only minor scratches. Amanda though…”

His eyes lose their shine and his head falls. “She’s not well.”

Dread takes the place of glee and sinks in his stomach like lead. Nines frowns. But just as he’s going to speak again…

“We probably could help.”

Gavin interrupts him, coming forward and leaning on his shoulder.

_ What- _

Nines stares at him. While there is a possible reason for his actions- he is hurt after all- this doesn’t seem like leaning for help. It's akin to when Lyki comes up to him and nudges his hand for attention. 

He blinks, taking in how Gavin is looking at Simon- like prey- and how he’s hung his arm over his shoulder in such a way that it’s just brushing the top of Nines pec. 

Wait.

Is….

Is Gavin  _ jealous? _

No way.

But…..

Nines carefully slides his hand across the hollow of Gavin’s back again, like he had when he was supporting him in swimming forward before. Only this time, his hand rests solidly over his hip and subtly pulls him closer to his own body. 

Immediately, he notices differences. Gavin leans back ever so slightly into his hold and relaxes his glare at Simon, backing down dramatically.

_ Holy crap. He was. _

Even more of surprise is that when Nines paid attention to him, he relaxed. He wanted Nines’ touch or attention or something and basically, Nines needs to urgently tell his heart to stop doing the fucking cha cha along with informing the excited bubbly feeling in his chest to piss off. Gavin just felt ignored, it's not like……he wanted  _ Nines _ ’ attention exclusively. He just wanted to be seen. 

But what if….

Nines immediately cuts those thoughts off before they go somewhere dangerous.

_ Emotions can come later!  _

Of course, Simon doesn’t take Gavin’s behavior as a threat. Instead, he his eyes dart back and forth between them and a wide smile makes its way onto his face as understanding dawns. 

“You must be who Nines chose at the engagement party...congratulations! Can I ask for your name?”

Gavin blinks, struck dumb. He probably hadn’t expected either reaction- Nines pulling him closer or Simon being happy and accepting of him. 

“Oh, uh….I’m Gavin.”

Simon smiles. “Nice to meet you. Wish we were meeting in a better place, but….”

Suddenly, a dreading look twists Simon’s face and he turns to Nines again. “Wait, did Markus find someone??”

Nines inwardly sighs. As much as he appreciates Simon as a friend, he doesn’t understand why he’s in love with an ass like Markus. 

He ignores Gavin’s glance. He’s not going to mention how they had met each other. Things would get really complicated, really fast. 

“No, Simon, I don’t think so…..”

“Oh, good,” Simon sighs, slumping forward in relief, then remembers himself and straightens. He glances at Gavin with a guilty look. “I mean-”

Gavin waves a hand. “It’s fine. I get it. He’s a cool mer and you seem pretty nice, so I’m sure that you’ve got a solid chance with him.”

Simon rubs a hand across the back of his neck with a shy smile. “Well, I don’t know….I think I would know if he was interested in me that way, I suppose. We grew up together and are pretty much best friends, so...I think I would have noticed.”

He blinks and slaps a hand across his face, cringing. “Ah…right...sorry for dumping all that on you.”

“It's alright. We’ve all been there, really.”

Simon rubs his hand down his face with a drawn out sigh, like he’s in physical pain. “Thanks. Anyways! Let’s go see to Amanda…you said you might be able to help?”

Nines nods, glad that they’re moving on. “Yeah, we have some medical supplies in our packs.”

“Good, ok, well…” Simon turns around to face the two women, who are still patiently holding the reins of hippocampi and chatting amongst themselves as they wait for the three to join them.

Simon gestures with a hand for them to follow him. “I’ll introduce you on our way.”

He leads them over to the two and one of them looks over. Her face lifts with a welcoming smile. She shoves her blue hair out of her face and behind an ear to be able to see them better. 

Simon gestures to the two women and says, “Nines and Gavin, the T’s.”

_ ‘T’s’? Is that their actual name, the letter T? Both of them? _

“Hey! So you’re why we heard that stone entrance open.” Says the lady with blue hair.

The other shifts, her eel tail flowing like a ribbon behind her. “Are these y’alls hippocampi?”

Nines blinks. He’s never met any mer from the southern seas, so the accent caught him off guard.

“Uh. Yes, those are ours. Thank you for catching them.” 

He lets go of Gavin’s waist and drifts over to his hippocampus. It blinks at him with a soft eye and he strokes a hand down it's neck. 

“No problem. We were right there anyways, so made sense to snatch ‘em up.”

Nines pats his hippocampus on the neck. Now that he’s next to it again, he regrets letting it go in the first place. He’s had it since he was young, and didn’t realize the relationship he had with it until there was a chance- a threat- of that relationship being lost. 

He turns to look at them with a smile. “Well, I’m very grateful for your help.”

Gavin hums agreement from behind him.

“‘Course. Happy to! They’re good’uns.”

They hand the reins back to them and turn to lead them further along the halls of the stone cavern. They all move forward to follow them and as they begin moving, the woman with blue hair turns to look over her shoulder with a question.

“So….Simon said these hippocampus are royal steads. So, who are y’all?”

Nines holds his tongue for a long moment. These women certainly don’t seem like a threat, and are actually pretty nice. But he still has to be cautious-

He’s interrupted by a kind chuckle from the woman with the long hazel hair braid.

“Hon, relax. We ain’t gonna hurt ya. Just lookin’ for a name to call ya!”

Nines swallows. Was he that easy to read?

“R-right. Sorry. I’m….I’m Nines.”

They don’t look surprised, but nod like a puzzle piece has fallen into place. 

The one with blue hair snaps her fingers. “Oh-ho! So you’re the prince we’ve been hearing about. Well, nice to meet ya, Nines. I’m Tracie. My dear here is named the same, but y’all can call’er Trace. Got it?”

The one with the braid- Trace, supposedly- nods along to Tracie’s words. 

Nines just knows that will get confusing, but he’ll try his best to keep them right in his head. Blue is Tracie, braid is Trace. Right. 

_ At least it isn’t just the letter T. That’s way more confusing.  _

After so many years of being subjected to royal meetings with people from far away Kingdoms and names that are far too long to remember, one would think he would be better with names. 

“Right, ok. Nice to meet you two.”

Trace turns to look at Gavin. “What about you, then?”   
Gavin blinks like a startled rabbit. He probably hadn’t expected any attention and had been spacing out. “Oh, uh, I’m Gavin.”

Trace looks between him and Nines. “Good to know you. So, what’s the deal with you two?”

“Huh?” Gavin raises an eyebrow. Nines is right with him- are they asking what they’re doing here or…

Nines starts to explain what he thinks they’re asking for. “Well, we were looking for Simon and Amanda after an attack from the kraken and their hippocampi returned terrified to the castle without them-”

Tracie waves a hand to stop him. 

“Sorry, I mean what’s a prince doing out here without a bunch’a soldiers backin’ you up? Not to stereotype you or anything, dear, but….you’ve only got one man with ya to protect ya. A prince needs more protection.”

Gavin tenses with a growl. “I can protect him just fine on my own! And we didn’t need any extra people to slow us down or bring more attention than necessary.”

She looks between the two closer, and a twinkle grows in her eye after a moment. “Oh, I misunderstood. Sorry ‘bout that. Y’all‘re lovers, huh?”

Nines coughs and sputters. “Wha--”   
_ How- what drove her to that conclusion?? _

Gavin gapes at her. “The fuck?! How did you-”

Simon loudly cuts them off. “How did they know?”

They both stare at him with astonished looks on their faces. 

Did he just betray them? No, that’s dramatic. But...he’s not telling the full truth. 

He knows Nines wasn’t dating anyone before the engagement party, so….what’s he doing?

He tries to catch his eye, but Simon purposefully turns his head to look at Tracie and Trace instead. 

Simon has a blissfully cheerful look about him, waving a hand as he explains. 

“In fact, they’re recently engaged!”

Trace’s face lights up, her braid swinging as she turns her head quickly to look at them. “Oh, so these’re the close friend’s, huh?”

Simon smiles, nodding. To anyone else, he would look perfectly fine. But Nines can see the stressful strain in his body. Simon knows that he’s lying...and he’s not liking it.

Tracie hums happily, oblivious to Simon’s stress. “Well, congrats to y’all! That’s great. We’ve heard a lot about y’all from Simon here.”

Nines holds back the urge to turn and look at Simon with the most confused face he can muster. 

They need to talk.

****

…

****

The rest of the swim back to their safe spot is reasonably plain. Making small talk about how they’re getting food here- fish swim in the tiny holes in the roof, apparently-, how they two women ended up in here- they’re travelers and just happened to stumble across the kraken. It snatched them up and stuffed them in here. It's not the craziest thing they’ve ever had happen though, so they’re doing ok with the whole situation. 

That was quite a shock to Nines and Gavin: what could possibly be worse and crazier than being grabbed by a giant octopus and put into a stone containment area?

Of course, as soon as they arrive at the temporary camp, Nines hands the hippocampus to Tracie and Trace. “Would you mind taking care of them for just a moment? We need to speak with Simon.”

They happily oblige and Nines yanks Simon far aside, Gavin trailing after them. 

The moment they round a corner and have some privacy, Nines grabs Simon by the shoulders and gives him a rough shake. Simon’s mouth opens in shock and he promptly bites his own tongue and yelps. (Oops.)

Nines stares at him with urgency. “Simon! What. The hell. Did you tell them about us?”

Gavin crosses his arms from where he hovers behind Nines, watching on. 

Simon stutters. He looks dazed. “I-I-”

He takes in quick breath and meets Nines eyes, which are still piercing into him like spears.

“I’m really sorry, Nines! I just- well….”

Nines lets his hands fall from his friend’s shoulders as Simon’s eyes drift sadly sideways and a cold twisting feeling slithers in Nines gut. Being even slightly mean to Simon feels akin to kicking a puppy into a busy street. 

Simon looks down, crossing his arms. His seal tail flutters anxiously under him, rocking him back and forth in the water. “I’m really sorry, Nines. When Amanda and I were shoved in here, those two were already in here. Of course, Amanda was in bad shape, and it...I was under a lot of stress, is all. The situation just couldn’t be any worse. So...”

He swallows, glancing up at Nines again.    
“I…..told them that I was sad about missing your engagement party….but….I didn’t say it was you. I said that it was a close friend. I guess…the real world was just too stressful for a me. So I wanted to escape it, and so I made up a story. I told them that you- er, my close friend was finally going to marry his long time love and that I was very happy because of that, but I was missing it because I’m here.”

He rubs a shaky hand on the back of his neck and leaves it there. “It just….it was just a story that made us happy, and made it a little easier to be stuck. But I didn’t expect you to come and find me, so I thought the little story would be harmless.”

Nines purses his lips together, thinking. Simon’s actions are totally understandable, but they certainly put them all in a weird position now. 

“Nines, I’m- I’m really sorry-”

“It’s not all a lie, we are technically engaged. So it’s fine.” 

Gavin’s voice comes from behind Nines and he turns around to address him. 

“Gavin, what-”

“We’ll just...pretend, for a little.”

Anything Nines was about to say is cut off by that statement like a knife coming down on a carrot, chopping through with a clean snap. Or maybe when a clock drops the floor and breaks, the hands coming to a halt. 

_ Pretend? _

Simon’s eyes grow wide. “Wha- we could just tell them….I mean….it’s not a very happy thing and I will have to admit that I lied,” he mutters with a wince, “but it could be worse…”

“Nah, it's only for a little bit of time. We don’t have to do that much. I’ll bet they won’t even notice!”

Upon noticing that his jaw is hanging open, Nines snaps it shut. He’s not….completely opposed to the idea. But that may change when they actually start the act. What’s he getting himself into??

“Nines. Hey, Nines!”

He jolts at Gavin’s voice, and blinks, coming back to the current moment. 

“Ah, what?”

Gavin is looking at him with a quirked eyebrow. “What do you think of the plan? It ok with you?”

Nines grits his teeth in a moment of tension. “You mean...pretend to be a couple?”

“Yeah.”

“I…..”

He hopes he won’t regret what he’s about to say.

It won’t be for very long, anyway…..

And surely it won’t take that much effort, right? 

Nines takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. 

“Yes, okay. We’ll do this.” **  
**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lil short chapter as my “hi im not dead and in fact I’m coming back until i finish this now” post  
> (unless something happens again and i cant finish it…..idk.)  
> Haha…..end me.  
> I’m really sorry i was gone so long! Life just flipped me upside down. I’m still upside down, but i’m getting used to it. so. Uh. yeah.
> 
> Suddenly, fake relationship! Kinda. Idk i just wanted to put it in, it was totally impulsive, but whatever its happening now! woot woot impulsive writing decitions, haha whats a storyline plan? i dont know her
> 
> 3/5/19: edit! My beta and I went over this chapter again and caught some stuff, so that's fixed now! it was just typos and phrasing issues, so nothing big. 
> 
> Also! Remember! My writing style went under a bit of change so it might be a little different. I dont know if that matters to you guys, but if it looks weird, thats why. I think it's a change for the better though, so I hope (if you notice) that you agree


	23. Gavin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh we’re going to pretend that Simon doesn’t need to go to the surface for air like an actual seal. Idk, merfolk are magic anyway so it's not that far fetched…..so it's just gon be that way

Okay, he’ll admit it. That may have been the most stupid idea he’s ever had.

What the hell did he just get himself into? He’s now agreed to pretend to be engaged to Nines.

_Dear Poseidon, please send a wave or maybe a rabid shark to kill me where I swim before I make a fool of myself even more._

In front of him, Nines taps a finger to his chin. He looks all too calm about this, like Gavin’s world isn’t coming down around him.

And it wouldn’t be coming down around him so much if he could actually succeed in ignoring the giddy swirling in his stomach whenever Nines gets too close to him or the way his tongue never seems to cooperate when he’s around Nines. Everything turns weirdly tingly, like his skin is static.

And now he has to pretend to be Nines’ lover.

He’s so doomed.

“Okay, so...I suppose we need to set some guidelines then.”

Gavin looks up when Nines begins to speak. “What do you mean?”

Nines looks towards him. “I mean, how do we pretend? Like….what do couples do?”

A million and one things soar through Gavin’s mind, every one of them unwanted and slightly inappropriate. He rubs a hand over his face to hide the blush that rises into his face.

“I don’t know. What about me makes you think I would know?”

Nines huffs. “Well, I mean, there’s nothing that makes me think you _wouldn’t._ ”

Gavin pinches the bridge of his nose, unsuccessfully trying to hide.

_What’s that supposed to mean?_

“What?”

Nines looks unimpressed. Hey, Gavin is asking for a reason. “I mean, you’ve been good with me, being protective and affectionate and funny and are good company, so I know you’re caring, and I thought-…..uh, Gavin?”

Gavin isn’t hearing him right. Affectionate? Caring? Those two words have never been slapped next to Gavin’s name or even remotely associated with him. Nines must have it wrong.

So he repeats himself. Like turning a computer off and on again. He hopes Nines will say something that makes sense and is actually fathomable. “What?”

Nines rolls his neck up in sync with his eye roll to look at the ceiling, exasperated. “I _said_ that I know that you’re caring, so I thought that you would have some experience and would have some suggestions for couple-ish actions.”

Simon speaks up from beside Nines. “Hand holding is a good start, I think. Oh, or cuddling! Little things like that.”

Gavin almost scoffs. Those things are little? The last time he held Nines hand, he thought his heart was going to explode. He’s got an idea why he felt that way, but it's a stupid idea and also totally egotistical to even dream about actually being able to stay with Nines after their trial month was up, so he doesn’t dare even entertain daydreams. He already took that choker off, after learning that Nines could feel what he felt.

Imagine the person that you may or may not have affectionate feelings for finding out that you feel that way because a rock tied to a string told them. No thanks.

And now he’s here and he proposed a stupid idea and has to go with it.

“Ok, fine, sure. Those are reasonable.”

_Reasonable as in I might not keel over when I have to do that. I have a possibility of surviving this._

Simon presses a hand to his chest, sighing like a great weight was lifted off his back. “Ok, good. Thank you two so much for agreeing to do this. I don’t have the heart to tell them I was lying….” He glances towards where they had fled from, away from the two women. “And with you two here, I’m sure we’ll get out soon. So you don’t have to pretend for long.”

With a satisfied nod, he flicks his tail and darts back around the corner and back towards the women, who are still waiting back at the base with their hippocampus.

He leaves Nines and Gavin alone in awkward silence, staring at the corner he disappeared around.

“Uh, ok…”

They look at each other with a side glance. Gavin’s eyes betray him and flick down to Nines’ hand before flickering back up to his eyes.

“Okay, so...let’s do this then.”

Nines startles. “Wait- what do you- you think we should hold hands as we go back??”

Gavin internally slaps himself. Shit, that wasn’t the right thing to say, was it? He’s already pushed Nines into a weird situation and with them being trapped here, maybe it’s too much-

He cuts of abruptly when a warm hand encases his own and Nines starts tugging him forwards.

_I guess it was actually fine???_

Nines doesn’t even glance backwards as he drags Gavin around the corner and back towards the others.

“We should convince them from the start, it could help through them off the trail so we don’t have to do too much to keep them tricked.”

Gavin frowns. Sure, it is just an act, but the way that Nines said that…..it's like he’s talking about a business deal or a battle strategy.

He follows without complaint, but it still stings like a papercut between two fingers.

“There you are!” Trace waves a hand to them from their temporary camp.

Now that he isn’t immediately being dragged away from it, Gavin can see that the camp is set in a cave-esc corner, with a sturdy stone overhanging the hollow. Mats are made up of various mosses and weeds found around the cavern, presumptuously for sleeping on something with more cushion than hard stone floor. A hand-made cage holds captured fish inside for meals and two lumpy packs have been leaned against a wall, slumped over like sacks of potatoes. Probably Trace and Tracie’s travel packs.

In the back of the hollow lays a limp figure, her dark skin scratched and long pale white eel tail littered with splotchy purple bruises.

“Amanda!” Nines gasps and lets go of Gavin’s hand immediately to rush over to Amanda’s side, leaving him slightly unbalanced from the force Nines used to pull his hand away.

The jackhammering of Gavin’s heart slows quickly in the loss of contact, but he quickly misses the warmth. And immediately scolds himself for doing so; he’s gone a lifetime without touch, he doesn’t need it now.

While Nines goes over to check on Amanda, Gavin turns to Tracie. Her blue hair is tied up with a strand of seaweed and she notices Gavin after a few seconds, previously involved in fixing on of the moss beds.

“Oh, Gavin! What can I do for ya?”

He clears his throat. He’s just going to ignore the ‘fake relationship’ acting thing for now. Act normal. Or even better, don’t even bring up Nines unless she does.

Yeah. Don’t even talk about Nines. He can do that, right?

“I was wondering why you guys are still here. I mean, the roof doesn’t look very strong- it even has holes in it for the fish to come in and out, so you could break one of those easily….”

Tracie nods, raising a finger like a pointer. “Yep, you’re right ‘bout that. But when we were firs shoved in ’ere, that great beast out there didn’t leave! So if we were to escape, it woulda attacked us. And then, Si and Amanda were put in ‘ere with us. Amanda’s so hurt, we can’t do much ‘til she improves. Least ‘til she can swim.”

Gavin bites the inside of his lip contemplatively with an understanding hum. “So you have to wait for her to be able to swim and then you’ll bust out, right?”

She nods. “Yup. Her healin’ is goin’ slow ‘cause we don’t ‘ave much in the way of medical supplies though.”

Forgetting about the vow to himself that he made not even five minutes ago, he responds. “….maybe Nines and I could help with that.”

He curses himself as her eyes light up.

_Gavin, you had one job. Just the one! And you still failed. Well done._

“A’course! Nines is yer man, then, huh?,” She quips with a wink. “Looks like ya got a nice one, so treat‘im good!”

Gavin is split between growling at her that he does treat him well and choking down the instinctual spit back that they aren’t really together. But that would be breaking the act and he doesn’t want to have to deal with that drama.

“Er- yeah. He’s great.”

When Tracie lifts an eyebrow skeptically, he barely refrains from slapping a hand onto his face.

_I never said I was a good actor, but wow, that was pathetic._

“Somethin’ wrong? You don’t sound too happy ‘bout it, hon.”

Gavin coughs. Time to practice his acting skills.  
“No, no! Uh, we’ve been traveling a while and I’m just tired is all. I really do-”

_Gavin you are about to say something and it's going to be a mistake shut the fuc-_

“I really do love him.”

_You stupid, stupid man._

Tracie grins so wide Gavin swears her face might just split. “Gav, I wish you coulda’ seen yer face just now. Yer eyes were so soft! Yer really gone fer’im, huh?”

Gavin gulps, looking away from her. Of course, his eyes land on Nines, hovering by Amanda’s side with Simon with the med packs from their bags.  
“Yeah, I guess I am.”

He blinks. He didn’t mean for his voice to come out so soft or so tender, but it did and now Tracie has a hand on his shoulder and is giving him advice. Oh no.

“You should show’im. Don’t be afraid to show some affection to ‘im!”

Gavin isn’t scared of many things. But he swears that the moment she said that, he could have shivered in fear if her hand wasn’t on his shoulder and he wasn’t trying to keep up the act.

“.....right, yeah. I will.”

_What have I gotten myself into._

Tracie pats him firmly on the back and swims away, her blue tail vibrant against the blank grey stone all around them.

Gavin lets out a breath as she moves away. Maybe this acting thing was going to be harder than he originally thought, especially with Tracie now keeping an eye on him.

Nines voice interrupts his thought patterns, dragging him back into real life. “Gavin, can you come here?”

Grateful for a job to do- and keep him out of his thoughts alone-, he heads towards them and deeper into the hollow.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

He doesn’t get an answer. Nines’ back is turned to him and Gavin foolishly gets closer without knowing why he was called over.

When Nines turns around with his hands covered in blue blood, Gavin lurches backwards.

“What the fuck-”

Nines blinks. “We got the scale that was causing her so much pain. It was actually lodged under the skin, so they couldn’t see it before and they couldn’t risk doing anything to her without med supplies. But with our supplies here, we got it, so she’ll be able to recover quickly now and hopefully we can leave soon.”

Gavin stares at him for a long second. “O...kay….” He glances down at Nines hands. “Uh, can you wash your hands off before I do whatever it is you wanted from me?”

“Oh, I just called you over to tell you that.” Nines turns his back again, rubbing the blood off so that it spreads into the water creating a light blue cloud around them. Gavin curls his lip. Now the water smells like bitter iron, heady. Gavin fights back a gag at the tang in his nose.

Nines sets a scale down next to him, presumably the one they pulled from Amanda seeing as it's sticky with blood. He continues talking as if nothing special is going on. “Also, so you can help pick up the rest of the medical supplies that we didn’t use.”

Help? He doesn’t want to be here any longer than he has to.

Gavin is about to snap back at Nines when he feels eyes on his back. He turns his head to see Tracie and Trace looking at him, and Tracie gives him a thumbs up. Damn it, he can’t get away with anything.

Gavin swallows the dignity he’s pretending to still have and answers Nines.

“Sure, hon, I’ll get right on it.”

He ignores how Nines whips around and stares at him with wide eyes like plates, purposefully looking elsewhere as he gathers up gauze and small metal tools to put back into the med packs.

“T-thanks,” Nines chokes out, voice raspy. Like when you swallow water and it goes down the wrong side, making you just about cough your lungs out.

He keeps bustling around, gathering things, utterly ignoring Nines shock. Maybe he’ll start thinking Gavin didn’t actually say it. That’d be funny.

With all the equipment piled in his arms, Gavin leaves them to go back to the packs and put the med kits back together. Pulling the empty kits out of the bags, he starts tucking things back into their correct slots, or finding places where they fit.

Simon and Nines mutter about Amanda a distance from him, Nines still sounding shell shocked.

“Hey! Would y’all come over ‘er a sec?”

Gavin turns around at Trace’s voice, his hands freezing where they are putting the last of the equipment away. “What’s wrong?”  
She shakes her head and waves a hand as to dispel any worries. “Nothin’s wrong, just want to talk about our situation here and talk ‘bout how we’ll get outta here when the time comes.”

Gavin hums, turning back to finish repacking the kits before turning around to join them.

They’ve set up a circle of large, flat, smooth rocks for them to sit on, like logs around a fire. Gavin curls his tail around one and sits down. “So, what’d you want to say?”

Trace clears her throat. “About the kraken and it's weaknesses. Y’all fought it, right? Did ya notice anything?”

Nines sighs. “Not really. I was able to lure it into stabbing itself on the stalactites on the top of the cavern, but I had to put myself into a lot of danger to do it.”

Trace’s forehead creases. “Hm.” She reaches over and takes Tracie’s hand, who is sitting next to her, and rubs a calloused thumb across her hand. “It's smart. We know that from how it shoved us in’ere.”

Gavin nods, ignoring the fact that maybe since Trace and Tracie are being affectionate, he should drag Nines over to him and do the same. But his mind is wandering the more he thinks about the kraken. He remembers what Rose said. Krakens are social creatures, and only get violent when they don’t get that socialization.

He rubs a hand around his chin before looking up at Tracie and Trace. “Hey, what about the pink abalone? I mean, there was a _lot_ of pink in that cave. Do you two have any idea why?”

Trace hums. “Maybe. Did y’all notice the woman in the crystal?”

“No?” Gavin raises an eyebrow. “Lady in a crystal? Like a fake lady?”

Tracie shakes her head. “Nah, she’s real, and alive. It's a stasis crystal.”

_A what?_

Nines speaks for them both. “Stasis crystal? What is that?”

Tracie blinks rapidly in surprise. “Y’all don’t have them? They’re used for storin’ things.”

Upon seeing Nines and Gavin’s blank looks, she elaborates.

“Back where we come from, people mostly us’em to store food. They freeze perishables inside ‘n keep’em good. They can even be used for creatures, if ya got a big enough crystal.”

Gavin’s eyes just get wider and wider. These crystals sound crazy. “Are they freezing them with cold temperatures or….?”

Trace speaks up. “No. As implied by the name, they keep’em in stasis. Stasis, in this context, means ‘inactivity’, and the crystals take that to the extreme. They freeze’em in time.”

The world stops moving for a moment. Everything stops. If there were flies underwater, Gavin would be able to see their wings frozen in position.

_Time???_

_First, we’re dealing with an accidental engagement. Then that Telling scale and destiny itself, tying the two who were accidentally engaged together by fate. And then a giant kraken. And now we’re dealing with motherfucking_ **_time_ ** **.** _What next, time travel and paradoxes??_

He swallows nervously. Hopefully he didn’t just jinx it.

“Uh- so you’re saying….”

Trace nods. Her long eel tail flicks against the rock, spine straightening up and facial expression serious. “Yes. The kraken trapped a woman in a stasis crystal.”

Gavin instinctually flinches backwards. His heart thuds in his chest like a staff hitting a gong, ringing loud and echoing.

A woman? A real woman. With the kraken. Just when he thought the situation couldn’t possibly get any more complicated.

He forces down his nerves, stealing them the best he can. “Who….what’s the kraken doing to her?”

Trace shifts closer to Tracie, pulling their entwined hands into her lap. “Y’know the pink shells?”

Nines nods. “Yes.”

“We were caught a little before y’all were, so we got chances to watch it's behavior. It keeps goin’ out and get’en pink things and bringin’em back to her. Pink coral, pink fish, pink shells. Like it's worshipin’ her.”

Gavin hums, leaning forward in interest with narrowed eyes and a hand on his chin in thought. “Why pink….”

“The lady’s tail is a pink seahorse tail. We think that the kraken is associatin’ her tail color with the things it collects for’er,” Tracie explains with a wave of her free hand.

“Pink seahorse-” Suddenly, Nines sits up stock straight, face entirely serious. “Tell me more about that woman.”

Everyone flinches just a bit back in response to his sternness. He looks as if he’s a word and a second away from lunging into battle, hands clenched together and leaning forward like a snake about to strike.

Trace sighs, looking pitying. “Ah- there’s not much to tell, hon. Sorry. The crystal is covered in algae from her torso up.”

Nine blinks the fierceness out his eyes at the news and slumps back, disappointed. “Oh.”

Gavin tries to catch his eye, but Nines is firmly looking down at the ground, a frustrated twist in his lip and he lets his head fall into his hands with a growl.

_What’s he thinking?_

They sit in humbled silence for a long moment before Simon clears his throat, uncurling his tail and standing up.

“Well...Nines, we can’t solve this tonight. How about we all eat something and save our strength for tomorrow? We’ll be able to do a lot more then!”

Simon tries to sound motivating, but the weary circles under his eyes betray just how drained he is.

But it's a good idea, and so Gavin bows his head, pushing himself up from the rock. “Yeah, sure. ”

He swims over to Nines, tapping his lionfish tail with his own tiger shark one- carefully, as to not accidentally get impaled by one of the spikes- to get his attention. Nines barely shifts.

Gavin prods further. “Hey. Come on.”

Nines doesn’t react. Trace and Tracie both get up and wander towards where Simon hovers over the basket of captured fish. Trace looks back to wink at Gavin.

Damnit, he’s going to have to act more again. The T’s are watching them closer than he had anticipated.

_Ok, here I go. Hopefully this doesn't blow up in my face._

Gavin gives himself a mental shove forward and reaches a hand down. He rubs a thumb down Nines’ cheek, dragging his hand lower until he catches Nines chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting his head up towards him.

Nines blinks up at him in confusion. “Wha-”

Gavin clears his throat and uses his eyes flick up to see Simon watching them with a sideways glance, hoping Nines would get the message, even though his mind is occupied with other things.

He doesn’t, of course.

“What are you doing?,” Nines hisses through his teeth.

Gavin swallows. Don’t break our cover here, Nines!

_Ok, acting skills, gets go! Uh, acting like a caring fiancé. Whatever that’s supposed to look like._

“Nines….,” he starts, clearing his throat when it comes out too gruff and sounds more like a threat than kind coaxing, “Don't worry about things now. We'll get everything figured out tomorrow.”

He's answered with a scoff. 

"I can't just  _not_ think about that lady in the crystal. Something doesn't feel right and I'm going to find out what it is."

Gavin sighs, rubbing his index finger on Nines cheek. "It will only keep you awake. You can't let this consume you. It's probably nothing anyway, and you need to eat and sleep."

His soft and caring tone is wasted on Nines, who narrows his eyes and curls the corner of his lip into the beginning of a snarl. "You have no idea how important this could be, so don't you dare tell me she's nothing."

Gavin flinches, dropping his hand. “What? What’s-”

_He doesn't know anything about her! He only was told one tiny detail about her and he's already totally obsessed!_

Gavin flounders to recover. "Nines, wait- it's more important that you get some rest and a meal than finding out more about some lady that you've never even met!"

His efforts to fix the situation are for nothing. Nines dismisses him with a cold, bored look through narrowed eyes. “I'll be fine. Worry about yourself.”

Nines abruptly gets up from the stone he’s sitting on, turning his back to Gavin. He growls a tired response, just quiet enough for Gavin to hear and no one else. “It's not your business to worry about me.”

And without another word or sound, he swims away from Gavin, not looking back even once to see Gavin’s shell shocked face.

_What just happened?_

He feels like a bomb has just gone off in front of him and had left his ears ringing. Staring at Nines’ back turned to him turns his stomach into a ball of ice.

He really shouldn’t have suggested the fake relationship. They could have just told the truth to them…

_There’s no going back now though._

He looks mournfully at Nines, who is still not looking at him, instead taking a fish from the basket to eat.

Gavin forces down the bubble choking his throat. He looks down to realize that he had clenched his hands into fists and he has to forcefully pry his fingers back into a open hand. He blinks, vehemently ignoring the small glass tears that have slyly formed in the corners of his eyes for no reason, and swallows his bruised pride to join the others.

He would try to talk to Nines again later.

But he can’t help but feel like he really screwed up.

****

…..

****

The meal is subdued and quick. Nines talks with Simon, away from Gavin so he can’t hear them. His back is turned, like Gavin doesn’t even exist.

Gavin slumps against a wall alone, staring up at the tiny holes in the roof of the cavern while he eats his fish.

He knows he pushed it too far. He must have, there’s no other reason Nines would be rejecting him so much otherwise, right?

He sucks the last of his fish from it's bones and lets his head drop forward, glaring down at the floor.

_I fucked up. And I don’t know what to do about it._

He glances up to where Nines is at Simon in response to something he said and feels a twist in his gut like a knife.

_I want to be the one making him smile…._

“Trouble in paradise, hon?”

He whips sideways to see Tracie coming towards him with a raised eyebrow.

_This can go literally nowhere good._

He clears his throat, pasting on a fake smile. “What? Oh, no, it's fine, everything’s good. What gave you that idea?”

He obviously wasn’t very convincing, because Tracie gave him an unimpressed look and reached out a hand to grip his shoulder.

“Hon, me’n Trace have been married long enough. I can see when there’s trouble brewin’ between a couple. Heck, we’ve had our own bumps. All relationships have‘um.”

She re-adjusts her tail, her long dorsal fin brushing the wall. Gavin briefly wonders if she’s got a swordfish ancestor, with how long her tail is for a blue tang. Long, but with the blue and yellow coloring of a tang.

“I could give ya some advice for fixin’ whatever problem is goin’ on between you two, if ya want.”

Gavin blinks, all thoughts of ancestors and family blood and such things forcefully shoved aside. He’s been dragged back into reality sourly.

“Uh-”

From across the room, Trace spots them and with a swipe of her eel tail, starts making her way over. Gavin mentally regards her with a sinking feeling in his gut.

_Oh, great, I’m gonna be tag teamed by them into talking to him._

Tracie pipes up from next to him and he turns to look at her again, with Trace approaching from the corner of his eye.

“Nines over there might be havin’ a hard time in’ere. Somethin’ about the lady in the crystal made’im upset, so maybe he would want his loved fiancé to comfort ‘im.”

That sends a cold rolling loose in Gavin’s gut and he swallows nervously.

Trace, who joined them in the time that it took Tracie to say that, nods in agreement with her wife.  

Trace, while with good intentions, adds salt to Gavin’s already open wound. “Communication is the key to a relationship. Go talk to ‘im. You’re marrin’ ‘im, right? He’ll listen to ya.”

Gavin swallows, looking past them and Nines. There is no way in hell that him talking to Nines would improve the situation at all, but he can’t tell them that the whole thing is an act. That wouldn’t improve anything, and would in fact probably just make everything worse so….

He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place in this situation.

He’s about to tell Trace that when Nines is upset, he likes space- which might be a lie, he doesn’t know- but is abruptly shoved forwards. Tracie had slipped her hand onto his back and given him a shove in Nines direction. He stumbles a bit, looking over his shoulder at them, blinking rapidly in shock.

Trace gives him a thumbs up. “Go get yer man!”

He tries to keep a visual wince off his face as he turns back to looking towards Nines and Simon.

Gavin tenses as he approaches the two, clearing his throat to get their attention. Simon looks at him with a kind- if sad- gaze.

But Nines barely turns his head.

Gavin hovers behind him, watching as the faint water current from the holes in the ceiling sweeps gently through Nines hair, making it look silky soft.

He chains down the urge to run his hands through it.

“Uh. Hey, Nines. Can we talk?”

He heards Nines sigh like the idea causes him physical pain, but he starts turning around. A thread of hope grows in his chest. Maybe it will be ok-

“Trace, Tracie!”

Nines looks right past him and at the two women, who are still by the wall.

“I think Gavin and I are going to head to sleep now. See you in the morning.”

After the two nod and wave to them, Nines turns towards Gavin, but looks through him like he’s glass when he speaks to him.

“Get your sleep pack.”

Gavin swallows. It's like talking to an echo, or a ghost.

Hollow.

He turns away obediently to fetch his pack, made up of a kelp mat and pillow.

He numbly picks it up and looks back at Nines, who is collecting his own pack from his saddle bag, settled next to where the hippocampi are tied up.

Nines glances at the two women watching them with observing eyes and comes over to join him. His eyes are still blank when he takes Gavin’s hand and pulls him away from the main camp without another word.

“Nines-” Gavin attempts to start a conversation, but is immediately cut off.

“Just follow me.”

Gavin shuts his mouth with a glare at Nines’ back as he’s pulled along behind him. He’s not going to be able to get anywhere if Nines won’t even let him talk.

As soon as they round the corner to the small hollow, Nines drops his hand like he would drop a unfeeling stone.

“Nines, wait-” Gavin reaches to grab his arm and pull him back so that maybe they can talk, but Nines yanks his arm from his grasp with a snarl.

“They can’t see us here, so stop pretending.”

Gavin stares at him with wide eyes, hands in the form of fists at his side. Nines glares at him before dropping his eyes to the floor, looking like he’s physically holding himself back, lip shaking and fists tight enough to dig his nails into his palm.

He says his next words quietly like he’s grieving.

“You don’t have to put so much into the act.”

Gavin grits his teeth together. He hadn’t forgotten. This whole thing is fake. Not only for Trace and Tracie, but for the kingdom as well.

They were engaged by a foolish accident. They were going to be together for the testing month, then say it didn’t work out. Breaking up with a fiancé happened sometimes.

And then Nines would go back to being Prince Nines and look for a different partner while Gavin goes back to being an exotic dancer in Jeiiko.

Nines turns away from him to set up his sleep pack away from Gavin without glancing back.

_I pushed him too far, too fast...and now I’m paying the price._

Gavin consciously un-clenches his fists. It's hard to forget how affectionate they were before. Teasing and playing, holding hands, even cuddling. The telling scale, the way Nines cared for him when he was injured (both times), how they talked about a heavy topics and it was okay to do so. Gavin didn’t feel dirty after telling him, and Nines didn’t pity him or treat him different. So, what’s going wrong now?

Gavin looks over his shoulder at Nines, who is ignoring him with his back turned and getting ready for bed in silence.

He tries to ignore the icy shutter crawling through his body as he feels a canyon forming between them. They’re getting distant before they really got the chance to close the distance in the first place.

….. _maybe that’s what Nines wanted?_

A cutting coldness fills his chest, slapping him awake and making the world hyper focus.

Of course, that makes sense, right?

Nines is a prince and can have anything he wants, surely. Perhaps he found Gavin interesting at first, playing with him, but then grew uncomfortable when Gavin started showing- or at least acting- interested in him.

Gavin blinks down at the floor, his heart growing icy and achingly lonely like a single solitary penguin left in the arctic snows all alone.

He’s a professional dancer. A pretty thing to put on shows and glow and dance on stage in silence.

And this show is over.

Gavin chokes, his throat and chest constricting. To force down a whine, he brings a hand up to his opposite forearm, wrapping his hand around it like a vice and squeezing tightly. Pain blooms where his fingers dig harshly into his own skin, but the pain barely dulls the digging ache in his chest.

_I don’t know what I expected._

He numbly sets up his sleep pack, head foggy and a million miles away in his shock.

He tucks in without a sound.

They fall asleep facing away from each other.

 _It's better this way_ , Gavin thinks just before his eyes shut and he falls into the black fog of dreams filled with blue eyes turning away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooopppps droppin that angst! Sorry yall, it just be that way sometimes  
> Twist of the knife, yknow?  
> I know that you were excited to see fake relationship stuff (and there will be more....but only as an act. Or is it?)  
> Tension, tension, tension!  
> and you’ll find out why nines is acting so wack next chap ;)
> 
> Edit 3/7/19: improved a scene! Aka added more angst so have fun with it


	24. ?raken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So called "pink" has a different name....and title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the stranger is back with some thoughts

**_Queen seahorse pink._ **

**_Blue. blue eyes._ **

 

**_small lionfish._ **

**_Blue. blue eyes._ **

 

**_Pink queen._ **

**_blue…...prince?_ **

 

**_blue like queen._ **

 

**_more friend?_ **

 

**_small blue not in glass…..queen in glass._ **

 

**_crack in glass. Hole in glass_ **

 

**_Queen not in glass much longer…._ **

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooh cryptic. what'd yall think this is supposed to mean? c" ತ,_ತ)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Please feel free to leave comments telling me what yall thought about the fic! (I love hearing your feedback!)  
> Or, if you want to chat:  
> Find me on Twitter @LynxKay or Tumblr at Royalkayblue.  
> 


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